Saving Prince James
by Genie345
Summary: Prince James, 20, is now a ruthless king that created an empire by conquering all other kingdoms. Princess Sofia, 18, is a banished princess who was summoned by Cedric to save the kingdoms and James's heart. Can a banished princess save a lost prince's heart and can a ruthless prince find love in an exiled princess?
1. Chapter 1

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 1: Life After James's Betrayal**

**_Sofia_**

"Mom, I'm going out to get some wood for the fire okay?" Sofia called out to her mom, the former queen of Enchancia, from the back door in the estate's kitchen.

Out of the kitchen's door that led out into the back of the small country estate, Sofia lets the cold autumn air hit her face before she begins her daily morning routine of fetching some wood for the fire and letting her mind wander. Just on the side of the estate was the small graves of the many animal friends Sofia made over the years and those dearest to her heart was the graves of Clover and the other palace animals that fled with her.

It has been nearly five years since her older stepbrother, Prince James, murdered her stepfather, King Roland II, at the age of 15 and took over the entire kingdom of Enchancia. Soon after he crowned himself king and took hold of all power, James set out to create his own empire. War after war, James used both brilliant and dirty military tactics to overtake all kingdoms and, in those long five years, James has managed to create a massive empire that consisted of all the near and far kingdoms. Many fear James and regard him now as monstrous because of how quickly he managed to defeat all opposing forces in and create his empire in such a short amount of time.

Since then, James has banished Sofia, Amber, and their mother into a small estate on the far end of the kingdom when he decided to spare mercy on the remaining family and left them only two maids. James kept Baileywick, the royal steward and caretaker, Cedric, the royal sorcerer, and all others he deemed necessary or loyal to him. He even now controls all magic within the world and had their school, Royal Prep Academy, converted into a large prison for all magical beings. If he decided they were useless to him or accused them of treason, James either had them killed or enslaved to the mines.

Life out in the countryside wasn't that much different to Sofia's life back in the village before she became a princess, a result from her mother's marriage to the late King Roland II when she was only 7. Sofia and her mother are still self-sufficient, despite their years as royals and being catered on or cared for. Although, the same cannot be said for her stepsister, Amber, it took Amber a long time before she could even manage to sew and repair her own clothing, nonetheless even garden or work with dirt. The three royal women now live a modest, commoner life.

"Sofia, where did you go?" Amber said to Sofia in the kitchen when she returned with a heavy large basket full of chopped wood. "You know, never mind that," she said with a wave of her hand, "Marie just can't braid my hair right, can you help me?"

Sofia looked over at her older sister as she ran her hands through her blonde hair and shaking out Marie's braid attempt, which Amber apparently deemed unfit for her hair.

_Poor Marie_, Sofia thought. Everyone in the house knows how hard it is to please Amber when it comes to styling her long thin hair. If not done the correct "Amber Way", things will not be pleasant for anyone.

"Of course, just give me one moment to get these pieces of wood into the fire for breakfast."

"Oh here, let me help. Marie! Can you come and help Sofia with the wood?!" she yelled. While their mother considers it a blessing to even have four extra hands to help around the small estate after James ascended the throne, Amber still considers it a scarcity.

Sofia gently shook her head at Amber, as she looked over at her older sister, dressed in her classic light green commoner's gown with a bit of Amber's flare, small tracings of lace and satin at the base and waistline of her gown.

"It's okay Amber, don't call Marie. I'm done already." Sofia said, taking off her work gloves and placing them into her white apron's pockets as she stood behind Amber, getting ready to braid. "Now, how would you like your braid done today?"

"Oh, you already know Sofia. Can you put in some of my gerbera daisies too? They're on the table in my basket." Sofia turned to where Amber was pointing and saw the big colorful orange, yellow, and red daisies that are in season right now.

"Do you plan on selling these daisies later today?" Sofia asked

It was only three years ago did Amber surprised everyone at dinner by announcing that she has started her own small business and began selling flowers from their home. Just last year, Amber became the local town's most popular florist because of her genius sense of color and knowing what flowers go great for what occasion. Everyone loves asking for her opinion and Amber was never a person to shy away from the attention.

"Yeah, I'm hoping to sell them all by the end of the day and make enough so that we can all go buy new fabric so you can make us some dresses for the town festival later this week!" Amber said excitedly. Fashion and parties are still her favorite things and Amber may have grown out of her old childhood ways, but still retains bits of it either way.

Amber and Sofia simply sat comfortably in each other's silence as Sofia began braiding into her hair the many autumn colored daisies. Since James betrayed their family, Amber and Sofia grew closer as sisters and took to each other's presence in order for comfort and solidity as they watched their formerly beloved brother destroy their family and kingdom. Now, apart from all other friends back in Enchancia, Sofia and Amber have become each other's confidants and best friends.

Amber, now a 20 year old, also grew in beauty and grace normal for that of a royal princess. Her long thin blonde hair wasn't as long as Sofia's and her lips weren't as full but she was still considered beautiful and she also developed an hourglass figure any woman and man would die for. Over the years, as the two of them grew together on the small estate and with the lack of staff and pampering, Amber's personality has grown and matured. She became a little more hard working and selfless, but a little bit of "Classic Amber", as Sofia likes to put it, remained after all these years and it always cracks a smile onto Sofia's face.

Sofia, now 18 years old, has become a beautiful and enchanting young lady. Her brunette hair has grown long past her waist, her lips and eyes are even brighter and fuller, and she developed a petite womanly body. Despite all the tragedies of her young life, Sofia remained kind, smart, considerate, and caring to all who approach her. She is still one of the hardest working princess anyone has ever met and honest beyond all faults. The only thing that changed in her was her trust in people; James's betrayal has left Sofia unable to openly trust anyone and hardened her heart towards her brother James.

"Alright Amber, I'm finished. I'm going to call mom out of the workshop."

"Oh, thanks Sofia! You're such an angel!" Amber said while giving Sofia a small, tight hug before running off with her flower basket, her floral braid swinging behind her. "I'll be right back okay? I just need to return my basket back into my workroom."

Sofia was just finished with Amber's hair and went off to meet her mother in their shoemaker workshop room in their estate. Since James has decided to cut the women off from any royal money, they do not have enough money to purchase a shop in town and chose to work from their home. The small country estate, a two story building with more than enough room for the five women that live inside, and with so much room, Queen Miranda made use of them by making them into workshops for her and Sofia's shoemaker job and Amber's flower business. And everyone in the local town knows of who Sofia and her family are, and when they first arrived to their exiled town, the townspeople were all kind and welcoming; they are still called by their royal titles.

The former queen sat at her worktable, head down trying to repair the pair of small red slippers a young mother dropped off the other day. Beside her were two long rows of repaired shoes that Sofia has to drop off later in the day and pick up the payments. Sofia's mom did most of the repairs as that she was the more experienced in shoe repair while Sofia would take the small carriage led by the only surviving palace animal, Minimus, and cover the distances to each house and do the returns with their neighbor's teenage boy, Thomas. Over the years, when there weren't as many returns to do, Sofia would help out with the repairs since she did learn more skills as she got older.

"Mom, it's 7 o'clock. Time for breakfast," Sofia said while gently tapping her mother on the shoulder.

"Oh thanks dear," her mother said while stretching and yawning, and the two made their way to the dining room where their other maid, Abbey, had set up breakfast. "Where is Amber?" Miranda asked as she took a seat at their moderate white dining table.

Just as Sofia opened her mouth to explain to her mother that Amber was just putting away some of her belongings, she heard Amber call out, "Here I am," and rushed to her usual seat at the table.

"Why yes you are," Queen Miranda said with a gentle giggle.

Before they could begin their breakfast, they were all interrupted by their maid, Marie, baffled and confused. "My apologies Your Majesties, but it appears that Lord Cedric is here and requests a presence with the three of you."

_CEDRIC?!_ they all thought and rushed out into the front of the estate.

**_James_**

James woke in his large, lonely bed and, like every morning, he surveyed his enormous royal suite. Even after all these years since he claimed the throne, he still hasn't moved out of his childhood room. Many expected him to move into his father's room, but he just didn't.

_She was there again_, he thought. _Sofia…._

For the past few months now, his younger sister, Sofia, has been a recurring theme in his dreams. She would either appear as she would when she first arrived at the castle or when she was 13, the last time he saw her or his family.

_Sofia…_, James thought again as he sat up and buried his head in his hands. _Why is she haunting me? _But he knew the answer to that question, James knows as to why his precious little sister haunts him in his sleep. She was his punishment, the constant reminder as what he did those five years ago.

What he didn't understand was, why Sofia and not his father?

Not even Amber, his biological twin sister, have appeared in his dreams as much as Sofia has. Or the many number of other people he had killed or ruined their lives. James killed his father, not Sofia. He spared his two sisters and his stepmother five years ago; he didn't even lay a finger on any of them. So why is it that Sofia was haunting him?

Before he could delve deeper into that question, James heard his daily morning knock by Baileywick, his father's and his longtime royal steward and caretaker. The now elderly man walked poised into the room with two of James's personal butlers. Baileywick, a once chipper and upbeat man, now is solemn and stern because of the loss of the former great king and his family, and the whips and beatings Baileywick endured when he tried to escape his forced servitude to James.

"Good morning Your Majesty. Breakfast is now served in the royal dining room," Baileywick said and when James nodded, he promptly turned on his heal to leave.

Now 20 years old, James has grown tall and developed a larger build on his body. His blonde hair now cut short and close to his head so that it cannot fall in his eyes and easier to manage. Not too muscular looking but just enough as to that he is considered quite the handsome young king. He attributes his lean and toned muscular body to the few hours in his day where he simply exercises, the only thing he can do in his free time to keep his mind busy otherwise, if left to wander, his mind would be consumed by the darkness within him.

In the royal dining room, James sat alone at the head of the large table and read over his long schedule Baileywick handed to him moments before.

Although ruling and controlling his vast empire with an iron fist, not much has changed since his reign began. He didn't change the décor of the throne room after his father's death and even kept Amber's and Sofia's smaller thrones. James has left some things just the way they were before he gained control of throne, laws and regulations remained as they were and even his father's councilmen kept their positions, that is until they prove themselves to be against his rule. Many of the subjects didn't see much altered when James became king, no new taxes appeared or anything of that sort but many still fear the new ruthless king because of the many numbers of people he has sent to prison or ordered killed. James grew to be unpredictable when it came to who, when, and why he would punish or kill those who displeased him.

Now that he controlled all kingdoms under his rule, he had all princes and princesses return back to their kingdoms and stripped them most of their power. All of his former friends from Royal Prep Academy no longer speak to him unless it was about trade or politics. Royal Prep was also changed into a prison for all magical beings, all that is except for Cedric, the Royal Sorcerer. He had Cedric locked into his chambers and only associate with him for tasks.

Despite staring at his long schedule and attempting to concentrate as hard as he can, James was unable to get Sofia out of his mind. Normally, just one look at his agenda helped him remove her from his thoughts, but today, she remained and haunted him with her large blue eyes filled with the tears he caused. And those tears in her eyes brought him back to the night he banished them from the castle.

It was only a month after he crowned himself king, when the entire kingdom was in an uproar and disarray when news broke that King Roland II was found dead and it was James that had killed him, that James ordered for his mourning stepmother and two sisters into the throne room.

"James, what's going on? Why are there soldiers all around us?" Sofia asked, he remembered how small and fragile her voiced sounded then and how she looked up at him with wide, scared blue eyes.

"Sof," he began, "since you guys are innocents in all of this, I decided to grant mercy on you all and allow you to live. As of right now, you guys are exiled from Enchancia and will live in the small country estate in the town on the outskirts of the kingdom." His eyes never left Sofia's when he delivered the news to his remaining family.

"What?!" his sister, Amber, exclaimed. He then forced his eyes upon her and away from Sofia's. "Why are you doing this James?"

"Simply because you are all in my way, I plan on conquering the neighboring kingdoms and creating an empire. I cannot do that with you three in my way. So you must go."

"James…," his stepmother began, "please-"

"You. Must. Go." he said harshly and waved them off, signaling the soldiers to grab hold of them and sending them to the awaiting carriage where their luggage were being piled on.

They all cried out his name but the only voice he heard was Sofia's.

"James! Please!" Sofia cried, struggling against the hold on her, "Please don't do this to us!"

Sofia then managed to break free and runs towards to where he sat on father's throne, mother and Amber were already towards the door, and threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly against her. He would be lying of he said he didn't like it when she held him so close to her, of how she smelled of lavender and vanilla, and how soft her skin was exposed through her sleeveless nightgown.

"Please…James…," her voice broke, tears probably already falling. "Just tell me what's wrong and I'll try to fix it…. I-I-I promise."

Then, he would have held her too. He would've done nothing but press her against him and remain like that forever, to prevent all of the madness that would later consume him bit by bit.

But he didn't.

Instead, he pushed her away. He removed her arms from his neck and simply stared back at her as she was pulled away by the soldiers, never breaking eye contact.

"Leave," he said coldly, "now."

It was those words that he saw something in her eyes fade. Maybe it was her trust in him, maybe it was her love for him, or possibly the last of her hope for James.

_Good_, he thought then, _leave. I don't need any of you_.

Since then, he hasn't seen or thought of them until Sofia returned in his dreams last month and now she won't leave his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, your first appointment begins in 15 minutes," Baileywick said, just slightly bringing James back from his thoughts. "If you would, please follow me."

James didn't move from his seat though, he didn't hear Baileywick. His mind was preoccupied by Sofia. No matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't leave his thoughts; she possessed every spot, every corner of his mind. It was so early in the morning and yet, he was already immobilized by the many thoughts and haunting images of Sofia.

"Your majesty?" Baileywick asked, hesitatingly placing a hand on his broad shoulder.

James's head quickly turned to Baileywick, "oh, right, right," he said absentmindedly, his mind filled with only Sofia as he walked beside Baileywick down the hall.

_I wonder how she's doing…,_ he thought. _She should be around the age of 19 now, which means she's of age. Does that mean she has a suitor now?_ The moment that thought entered his mind, for some reason, it caused his stomach to sink.

She was one of the most beautiful and loved girls at Royal Prep, so it shouldn't surprise him if she already had a suitor at this age, but why did it bother him if she did?

James knew that he had no right to feel this way since he was the one who banished and pushed her away with the rest of his family and she was his stepsister, but he didn't enjoy theorizing that she might have a suitor. And without realizing it, James found himself absently walking towards Cedric's lair and opening the door.

Inside the lair, James saw the silver haired sorcerer hovering over a cauldron, stirring some magical mixture. The Royal Sorcerer looked up to see a confused young king.

"Your Majesty, how you honor me with your presence," Cedric said sarcastically. "May I ask as to why you're in my lair?"

Cedric was the only person James knew that remained hostile and cynical towards the self-crowned king. With a full head of white hair, Cedric looked just a bit younger than Baileywick and he always wore the same dark purple sorcerer's robe and dingy yellow bow.

_Good question_, James thought. _Why am I here?_

Not wanting to look like he's losing his mind, but still having Sofia on his mind and wanting so badly to know if she has a suitor or not, James thought of a quick and lame excuse, "I came here wanting to know how everyone is doing in the countryside. Show me Mom, Amber, and Sofia."

"You mean Queen Mother Miranda, Princess Amber, and Princess Sofia?" Cedric asked astonished by James's random request.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that, sorcerer?"

But before Cedric could respond, Baileywick walked into the lair, "Your Majesty! Why are you in Cedric's lair?"

Thinking quick on his feet, "I simply do not wish to go to the appointments today, Baileywick. As King, I can do what I wish, can't I?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, but–"

"But nothing, just go and postpone all of my appointments for now," James said, waving Baileywick off and out of the lair. "Now Cedric, show me Sof– err, I mean my family."

"As you wish," Cedric said, knowing that it would be useless to even counter his king's request and walked over to his crystal ball on his old wooden table, chanting a spell. He watched as his sister appeared, walking out of the front door of the small royal estate with various shoe boxes in her arms towards a shabby looking carriage with her old flying derby horse tied to the front of it. Her mother stood at the door with the other boxes while Amber was selling some bouquet of flowers to a passing couple.

_There she is_, James thought.

James just stood there, astonished by her beauty. She didn't look like the same young 13 year old he once knew, she was a young lady now and a beautiful one at that. For as long as he known her, she was always considered beautiful among all of their peers at Royal Prep. Her beauty even rivaled that of Amber's, the most beautiful girl on all of Enchancia.

Her wavy hair was still the same brunette color, but now, it looked lush and soft to the touch. Her lips didn't seem small anymore, instead it was full and pink and gave one of the most beautiful smiles he has ever seen. And her eyes…oh her big blue eyes. Though it was hard to fully see through the crystal ball, they still looked bright blue just like the sky she always looked up at.

Seeing her and her smile again, after all these years, even if he caused their separation, almost made him smile.

But his joy was short lived when he saw a boy approach her. The dark haired boy with brown eyes looked down at Sofia and smiled, easily taking the boxes from her hands and put it into the carriage. The mystery boy then took Sofia's hands and helped her up onto the front of the carriage and sat beside her.

_Who. Is. That?_ James nearly screamed. _And how dare he touch her!_

James watched angrily as they sat _very _close to each other on the small front seat and laughed together as they dropped off the shoe boxes to various homes in the nearby town. He didn't know how long he just stood there watching the two of them as a raw angry rage built up within him. He didn't know why it bothered him, but at the moment he didn't care, he had to know who this boy was to Sofia and put a stop to whatever relationship the two have.

"Cedric! Save this image of the two! Now!" James yelled without thinking, "Baileywick!"

"Yes Your Majesty?" Baileywick asked moments after returning.

"Locate Sofia and the rest of my family, bring them back to the castle right now!"

_I am going to demand right from the source who this boy is and what is he to you, Sofia._

**_Sofia_**

"Cedric! It is you!" Sofia exclaimed, the moment she, her mother, and sister entered the main room.

"Good morning to you Queen Mother Miranda, Princess Amber, Princess Sofia, but I am not actually Cedric," he said, bowing low to each respective royal. When James became king, Miranda lost the title of queen and instead was renamed Queen Mother.

"What do you mean you are not Cedric?" the Queen Mother asked as she and her daughters sat down on the cushioned couch.

"You sure do look like Cedric," Amber said.

"Your Majesty, I am merely a magical projection. My pet crow here is holding the crystal that is projecting this message." Cedric pointed over to the old, black crow beside him on the couch with a small clear gem in between his beak.

"Wormwood!" Sofia said as she was in the motion of smoothing out her faded purple working gown, astonished to finally notice the old crow.

"Good day to you, Princess Sofia," Wormwood cawed, her secret magical amulet allowing her to understand all animals around her. Sofia still had her Amulet of Avalor, the magical amulet her late father gifted to her when she first arrived to the castle.

"Queen Mother, Princesses," Cedric began, "the real Cedric, back at the castle, created this message as a way to ask for Princess Sofia's help."

"My help?"

"Yes," Cedric said, "As we all know, five years ago, James discovered a secret of King Roland's and sought revenge on him."

_Yes_, Sofia thought, _I remember that day pretty well._

Sofia remembered it all, the day when James approached Sofia and told him of how he discovered some of their father's lost letters and how no light reached his eyes as he told her.

When James was only 15 years old, he stumbled upon old notes of King Roland's in the castle's attic one day. One note turned out to be an old love letter to a former mistress of the late king's, revealing that King Roland had been involved with another woman as his wife, Queen Anne, had been pregnant with James and Amber. Other notes disclose that he called off their relationship but when Queen Anne learned of their infidelity after the twin's fourth birthday, she grew depressed and later killed herself by stealing a poison from Cedric's lair. It was James who found her dead but when his father arrived to her room, he pulled James away and had Cedric alter the twin's memories to that she grew ill and died peacefully in her sleep.

When James confronted their father about the notes, his father first denied it but several days later, admitted to it all and later that same day, James cornered his father alone in his room and slashed him down. No one could've predicted that James would snap like that, to claim the throne, and to banish his family away from him when they wanted nothing but to help him.

Even when she ran to him on the night Sofia and her family was banished out of Enchancia, when she begged him to not exile them and told him that she wants to be there for him and to help her try to fix whatever it is that is bothering him, but he just stared at her with cold, emotionless eyes and demanded she leave. Right then and there when she stared into his eyes, she saw that the James she knew and loved was gone, and whatever hope she had for him diminished. The way he killed his father with no remorse, abandoned Sofia and everyone without looking back, and the stories she hears of James ordering many people killed or imprisoned caused her heart to harden and her faith in him to die.

"Well regarding you, Princess Sofia," Fake Cedric continued, "Baileywick, the real Cedric, and the former headmistresses at Royal Prep have been trying to come up with a plan to save James and the kingdoms, and the one they thought up with involves you because of the formerly close bond you and James had growing up."

"Hey!" Amber whined and pouted. "What do you mean close bond? _I'm_ his twin sister."

"Amber…," their mother whispered and giving her a sympathetic yet stern look.

"No offense to you, Princess Amber, but looking over the facts, James and Sofia did spend more time together than you and James did. As well, Baileywick reports that lately he hears James calling out Princess Sofia's name during the night."

"_My_ name? Why me?" Sofia said, taken back by the news.

"That is something they do not know, Your Highness, but hope to use it to their advantage. They believe that somehow the former bond you two shared may be causing something in him to shift because, as of late, he has been absentminded and he has not been as ruthless recently."

"That does not prove it is because of me."

"On the contrary, this change in him began around the time when Baileywick heard him calling your name, Princess Sofia. Before when you were by his side, they've always noticed how much calmer and at ease he was because you two contrast each other so well. They theorize that if you return back to the castle, maybe you can have that same effect on him and thus save him." Fake Cedric said with a pleading tone in his voice.

"But we are exiled from the castle and kingdom," their mother said what the three of them were all thinking, "we are forbidden to return, and if we do, we will be punished or killed."

"Yes they know, Your Majesty, but earlier this morning, James demanded that Cedric show him how you and your daughters are doing out here in the countryside. Since he did not want show you guys talking to me, he simply showed him a scene from yesterday when Sofia and this young boy was doing shoe returns and that got him to demand Baileywick to bring you all back to the castle."

"What?" Amber said, so shocked that her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yes and by this time tomorrow, a palace guard will arrive to take you all to Enchancia. But Princess Sofia, they need to know. Will you return back to the castle and help us try to save James and the kingdoms?" he asked, looking at her with a hope she has never seen in Cedric before, fake or real. "Please Your Highness, we need you to bring James back. They are all certain that if you are by his side once more, you can bring him back from whatever dark abyss he is drowning in."

Sofia sat there not knowing what to do.

After James sent them into exile and she saw that there was no life in him anymore, she simply moved on with her life. She enjoyed it out in the countryside, where she no longer had royal duties or obligations. She just had her family and returned back to a commoner's lifestyle. She didn't have to worry about looking like a princess or having to wear so many gowns or pleasing everyone back at Royal Prep. That was all behind her now.

Sofia remembered how he easily left her and her family behind and how he killed their father with no mercy or remorse. All the good in him and all the hope she had for him died five years ago. She promised herself that since James doesn't love her or her family anymore, why should she even care about the boy who separated the two of them? That very same boy who was always beside her, who protected her from the bullies, who was one of her best friends and she trusted him, she loved him and he broke her heart and trust the moment he told her to leave.

So why should she even go back to a monster like him?

Her mind is telling her to remain here and to not pay him another thought, but her heart is telling her that maybe, just maybe, there is hope in him after all. That if her three former headmistresses, still sees the good in James, even after all that he has done, maybe she can too.

Then Sofia felt her amulet grow warm and reached for it. Looking at it in the center of her palm, she somehow felt like it was telling her to go… and save James.

Looking back at Fake Cedric, Sofia answered firm and strong, "Yes."

* * *

This was something I've been wanting to do for a while now and... well here it is! I watch the show and I just think it's adorable, but I wanted to take it down a more darker road and this was kinda where I ended up. I hope you like it. I own nothing, all _Sofia The First_ rights belong to the Walt Disney Company. This is my first fan fic, so just comment and give me some MATURE and RESPECTFUL criticism about what you thought about my little fan fic, tell me what you'd like to see in the future chapters or if I should continue this story of mine. Chapter two will or should be up in a few days or so.

Thanks :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 2: Return To Enchancia **

**_Sofia _**

Sofia sat across her mother in the royal carriage that arrived for them a day after Fake Cedric's visit while Amber was asleep beside their mother.

Earlier this morning, a palace guard named Michelson arrived to their estate and stated that James has demanded for their presence at the castle. He was kind enough to allow Amber's request of letting them get properly dressed up first.

"Sofia!" Sofia's mind wondered back to this morning's events, "you have to look your best since we're going to see James after all these years. Now stop your squirming and sit still."

Amber brushed Sofia's hair into a half up-do so roughly that she was willing to just let her wavy hair remain a mess and go to James in a raggedy old commoner's dress.

"Why do we even have to look our best?" Sofia complained, her voice growing hard and bitter, "It's James we're going to see, remember? It's not like our appearance will change anything about what he's done or what he might do."

"I know Sofia," Amber's voice became soft and kind, "but I want to prove to him that even though he left us on our own, we survived well without the royal money and we still looked like princesses. I mean look at me, I worked with dirt but I'm still beautiful too."

When Amber only heard Sofia let out a small laugh, she asked gently, "Sofia, are you sure about this? Returning back to Enchancia where James is? You know you didn't have to agree to this, you don't have to save that monster if you don't want to."

"I know… I just want to see if there is anything in him that might be worth saving. If there isn't, then I'll know for sure and I can walk away. If there is, then I'll do whatever it takes to save James and the kingdoms."

Amber let out a heavy sigh, "If you're certain about this, I trust your judgment and support you. It's James that I don't trust anymore. After everything he's done, I just don't think it's a good idea for us to return to Enchancia."

"I know… but thank you for caring Amber," Sofia said, giving Amber's hand a tight squeeze.

Moments later, when Amber deemed them all perfectly dressed for their grand return to Enchancia's court, they left on a carriage carried by four white flying horses. The three women were dressed in their best gowns, which, since they were cut off from all royal expenses, didn't look like much. Amber was dressed in a light lace yellow gown and had her hair tastefully curled while Sofia had on her favorite modest purple satin dress she and Amber made together last year. Their mother had on a cream orange colored dress that Amber chose for her and had her hair done into a simple bun.

In the carriage, Sofia looked over at the young guard beside her. He must have been no older than 21 and he had a soft, gentleness about him. When he looked at her and gave her a smile, she saw that his eyes were a warm hazel.

_He's quite handsome_, Sofia thought. She liked how his wavy dark brown hair was light against the rushing air and she noticed how tall and built he was for someone in the royal guard. _For someone so tall and muscular, he should be a knight, not a guard._

_Stop it Sofia_, her mind scolded, _you should be thinking about how you are going to save James and the kingdoms!_

And for the remainder of the long ride to the palace, her mind was filled with questions with the exception of the occasional glance at Sir Michelson. Sofia understood that it was her decision to return and possibly save James, but what she didn't understand was why did he call them all back? What possible reason did James have to demand they return?

"Sir Michelson, may I ask you a question?" Sofia asked him just before they arrived to the castle, thinking that he might have some information.

"You may, Your Highness."

"Do you know why James called us to the palace?"

Michelson gave Sofia a sympathetic look, "I am sorry Your Highness, but no I do not. I was simply ordered by Lord Baileywick to escort you back to the palace as quickly as possible."

"Oh…." Sofia said, her mind still at unrest and filling with more questions. _When I get there, what's going to happen? I told Amber that if I see something redeeming in him, I will save him. But how am I going to do that? It's been years since I've seen James. He's changed so much and the last time I've seen him, he was someone I hardly recognized. What if there is nothing in him to save, do I just walk away? _

Sofia said that she would walk away, but can she really do that despite all that has happened? James was someone she loved, how can she leave someone who held such an important part of her heart?

"Don't worry Your Highness," Michelson said, seeing her distraught expression and breaking her from her thoughts, "speaking for all of the guards, we are all here to protect you, Princess Amber, and the Queen Mother."

"What do you mean?" asked Queen Miranda.

"Your Majesty, even though all of the guards are under King James's power, we all still support you and your daughters. In all honesty, we all are willing to die to protect _you_ from _him_. Many of the palace guards did not like how King James took power by killing one of the greatest kings Enchancia has ever had."

"Thank you, Sir Michelson, but let's hope it does result in something puts you all in danger." said the queen.

"Yes of course, Your Majesty. So does did that make you feel any better Princess Sofia?"

Sofia looked at Michelson and saw in his positive eyes that he was making the effort to ease Sofia's nerves. Touched, she replied, "yes, Sir Michelson, that did."

Looking out of the window, Sofia saw the fast approaching castle and was a bit shocked to notice that nothing new was added to the exterior of the castle.

Once they all landed, almost immediately they were greeted by Baileywick. "Your Majesties!" he said, looking all too happy, "welcome back!"

"Baileywick! Oh how I've missed you!" Amber said, rushing out of the carriage and hugging him tightly.

"It's good to see you, Baileywick," said the queen, joining Amber by her side.

Sofia was last being helped out of the carriage by Michelson and thanked the handsome guard for escorting them back safely.

"It was my pleasure, Your Highness." Michelson said, bowing low. "I'm always around, so just call for me if you ever need anything." Standing up right, he suddenly took her right hand and gently kissed it, making her cheeks burn.

Too embarrassed to reply, she simply nodded and rushed off to join her mother and sister as they were making their way into the castle. Looking behind her, she saw a blushing Michelson with a goofy smile and waving at her, and with a tiny laugh, she waved back before turning around.

Within the walls of the castle, Sofia was baffled to see that everything remained the same and took in the old familiarity of it all. The old grand entrance way, doors, and the large towers remained. The hallways still hung past monarchs' portraits and even the old stain glass window of the royal family was still intact. She would have figured that from James's past personality, he would have gone on a mad dash to change everything and make a new castle based on his preferences. So why did he keep everything the same?

As Baileywick was leading them towards the throne room, he whispered, "I apologize that I was unable to escort you three here myself. King James forbids me from leaving the castle grounds."

"It's alright Baileywick," said Queen Miranda, "we understand. I'm just happy that you're alive and well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said with a small smile.

Looking at Baileywick out of the corners of her eyes, Sofia got a good look at his face and noticed that he has dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks are so hollow now. He doesn't look like the old Baileywick she once knew. He appeared so thin and old, his hair fully gray and his eyes still held some light in them but not like they once did.

Stopping in front of the throne room's massive doors, Baileywick whispered to Sofia, "Princess Sofia, please save King James. I know this is a lot of pressure to put on you, but please help him. There is still good in him somewhere, I just know it."

"I'll try…," Sofia said to reassure both Baileywick and herself, steeling herself just before the doors opened and entering in a single line with Sofia last to see a smiling James sitting on the throne.

_He's grown so much_, Sofia thought.

Walking slowly towards her stepbrother, she looked him over and saw how much James's outer appearance has matured. His shoulders were broad and his body was lean, as if he spent all his time just exercising and she couldn't help but noticed how muscular his arms looked through his royal uniform. She saw that he cut his hair short, unlike how he had it when they were younger, and had it stylishly combed away from his face.

Getting a good look at his face now, Sofia was almost stunned to see how handsome he was. His face was strong and chiseled, just like any young king's should be, but there was something about it that made Sofia's heart skip a beat. Maybe it was because how his face was hard and serious, that every inch of him just screamed solid muscles and yet there was still a youthfulness about him.

For anyone else, it would be hard to believe that someone so young looking could live up to all of the tales of the murderous king, but for Sofia, she witnessed it all firsthand at what he was capable of. It was only his eyes that could give her answers that she is after, that if she should stay and try to save him or not.

His green eyes… the very same ones that she enjoyed to look at when she was younger. Half of her didn't want to look, afraid of what she'll see in them, but the other half wanted to, just to see if there was at least some small spark of light in them. She lifted her gaze and saw that James was looking right at her, his face perfectly poised as if he was trying to mask all emotions, but then when they made eye contact, his mask just slightly broke and in between those tiny cracks, she saw a small, miniscule spark of light in his eyes.

**_James_**

_She's even more beautiful in person_, James thought as he marveled at Sofia.

As she was making her way to him, he tried to drink in every detail of her. From how her hair looked even more rich and lush and sun kissed as it waved behind her, how her red lips looked full and tender, and how her eyes appeared even more blue than they did in the crystal ball. They shined so bright that they could put all the stars to shame.

And he couldn't help but notice how her purple dress hugged each and every one of her curves, giving her an hourglass shape. _That_ was something he didn't notice in the crystal ball and despite himself, he couldn't help but run his eyes over her tiny waist and developed chest. Her matured body looked so good in his eyes, her dress showed just enough to be tasteful and yet teasing.

_Where are you looking at? That's your little sister for crying out loud! _He cursed at himself but… she was simply too beautiful to be real.

He wanted so badly to touch her, to make sure that she wouldn't disappear and vanish before his eyes like she does in his dreams, to have her in his arms and keep her there, and… and… to kiss her?

_Where did that come from?_ James thought. He's never had that thought before. Sure he's noticed her lips but never had he thought of kissing her. But…yes, he wanted to. To press his lips against hers, to feel how soft they might be, and suddenly it wasn't her blossomed body that he couldn't rip his eyes from, it was her lips and eyes. They called to him and he just wanted to stare at it all day.

The closer she got to him, the faster his heart beat and as she stopped in front of him, he noticed that her blue eyes still shined like the sky but they weren't the same as he remembered them. They weren't full of the innocence and honesty he was used to seeing, they've changed… and he was taken aback by the hardness in them.

And suddenly, last night's dream appeared in his thoughts.

For so long, whenever a 7 or 13 year old version of Sofia would appear, he would try his hardest to reach for her outreached hand, but she would always disappear and leave him in the dark. Last night's dream was different though. Instead, this Sofia was from the crystal ball that showed up and this time, he managed to reach her. Her arms wrapped around him and he wasn't in the dark anymore, she was his light and saved him from the dark recesses of his mind.

Maybe that was a sign, a sign to keep Sofia beside him. James didn't understand his new need to have her next to him, he just knew that he needed her by his side. Would she agree to it though? Would she even want to be next to the man who killed her father? Next to a monster like him?

They bowed low and Baileywick announced them one by one. "Your Majesty, I present to you, Her Majesty, Queen Miranda, The Queen Mother and Their Highnesses, Princess Amber and Princess Sofia."

Pushing all thoughts from his mind, James's usual false smile returned. "Welcome back. I presume your journey was enjoyable?"

"Yes it was James," the queen replied.

"And how are you all adjusting to life in the countryside?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking."

And their conversation continued like that. James would ask simple questions about their lives and what they have been up to, and only Queen Miranda or Amber would reply to him. Sofia just stood there and looked at him, like she was searching in his eyes for something…. Throughout his conversation with his mother and twin sister, he never broke eye contact with Sofia and as she stared long and hard into his eyes, and he tried to figure out just what she was trying to find in him so that he could give it to her.

"James," Sofia's small yet firm voice broke through, echoing throughout the silenced room.

_Her voice…,_ he thought_. It sounds the same, but different at the same time._ It had the same airiness to it, so light that it could flow with the wind and just fly away. Yet, there was something strong in it, a strength that could be found in a warrior goddess.

"Enough with all of the small talk, already. Just tell us why you called us here." She stared at him, unblinking and reserved.

Normally, anyone who would talk to him like that, they would be immediately imprisoned and later sent to be killed. But maybe it was the way she held her head high and looked him right in the eye, as if daring him to call the guards, that didn't make him send for the guards. Her boldness almost made him break out into a real smile, something he hasn't done in years.

_Just be honest with her James_, he thought, slightly laughing to himself, _you already know that she can tell if you're lying. _

"Very well," James said, smiling, "Baileywick, send for Cedric and have him bring with his crystal ball."

"Yes Your Majesty," Baileywick said with a bow, dashing out of the room and quickly reentered with Cedric behind him.

"Cedric, show the images from yesterday." James said to him as he placed his crystal at the bottom of the dais.

The crystal began to light up and projected images from yesterday, of Sofia and her family outside of their estate, but when the image of Sofia laughing with that boy appeared, all the joy in him vanished and was replaced with a growing anger. He was more mad at _himself_ for not being the cause of her laugh, to not be there in person to see how her eyes shined whenever she laughed or smiled, but James still wanted to beat that boy, to pound his face in because he caused _his _Sofia to laugh.

"You see, yesterday, I had Cedric show me how you all were doing in the countryside. I just wanted to see what you all have been up to since I exiled you guys and do a little checkup. I saw that you have a business now? Is that correct?" he said, hearing an edge in his voice.

"Yes, we've already told you that Mom and I have a shoe repair business and Amber sells flowers."

"Is it really only you and Mom?" the edge in his voice growing harder. "Or is there also someone else?"

"Just where is this going James?" Amber spoke up, her impatience obvious.

"I just want to know who else they share their business with, that's all," he said. James could feel his anger growing out of control and breaking his patience. From the pit of his stomach, his rage fumed from within him, his hands clenching and turning his knuckles white.

_Why?_ James thought, _why does it bother me so much? Why can't I take the idea that she might have a suitor? Shouldn't I be happy that she's found a guy that might make her happy? _

"What do you mean? Mom and I are the only ones who own it." And right there, his temper broke.

"Oh really?! Then. Who. Is. This!" James had Cedric stop at the image he saved yesterday, of Sofia sitting close to that dark haired boy on the front seat of the carriage. "Hmm? Answer me Sofia!"

He took joy in seeing her taken aback by his anger, but only for a short while because he saw how quickly her shocked expression turned angry. Her brows furrowed, her lips frowned, and she stared daggers at him.

"I don't have to answer you, James," she answered coolly, "not when you're yelling at me like a madman."

"What?!" James nearly got out of his seat on the throne just to stand nose to nose with Sofia.

"Now James," he barely heard his mother say, "calm down just a bit."

"Don't!" he screamed, turning to glare at his mother, "I want to hear it from Sofia, herself!"

James felt it. His anger was becoming uncontrollable and it was getting the best of him…. He didn't understand when his anger became like this, it just happened and now it was explosive. Unleashed like a crazed animal, every word they uttered just fed it and he knew that it was inevitable that one of them would be bitten and hurt.

"James!" Amber and Sofia yelled.

"Don't yell at mom!" Amber screamed.

"Shut it Amber!"

"No!"

"James," began his mom, "please–"

Not wanting to hear any more of his mom's voice, James yelled, "Guards! Shut Queen Miranda up and send her back to her home in the countryside!"

"Stop it James!" Sofia screamed. Both Sofia and Amber ran to their mother's side, blocking the approaching guards.

"Then tell me who he is!"

"Why?" Sofia glared at him, "why does it matter to you?!"

_Why won't you tell me?_ James thought. Fed up with her, he decided to threaten it out of her. "If you don't tell me who he is, I'm going to send mom somewhere you'll never find her."

"What?!" all three women exclaimed, shocked at his sudden threat.

"Sofia, I'm serious! Tell me who he is!"

"Sofia…. Don't tell him anything," Amber hissed. "If you think that threatening us will get you anywhere, you are so wrong!"

"Fine!" James spat, "then watch as mom is dragged away!"

* * *

Well, chapter two is up and ready! This is a little shorter than I wanted, but I'm saving the juicy bits for the next chapters. ;) Thank you to all of those who reviewed and gave me good tips, I took it all to heart and made adjustments to this chapter. I hope you all like it. Again, this is my first fan fic series, so give HONEST and MATURE reviews and comments please.

Thanks :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 3: The Light in James**

**_Sofia_**

Sofia couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. Just a matter of moments ago, she saw that a real smile broke onto his lips, that there was a hint of the former James she loved. How did he go from that to yelling at her out of pure rage? His eyes were wide and crazed, anger seethed out of them. It was something that she's never seen before in him, not even when he found out about King Roland II's affair, back then, his anger never escalated to this extent.

He was only asking her questions about their shoe repair business, and, to be honest, his question about who else did they share their business with confused her. She just didn't understand who he was referring to until he shouted at her and pointed to the magical image of Thomas. Then, her stubbornness took over. Sofia just didn't take kindly to how he shouted demands from her, not even when they were kids, when he was kinder and the sweet James she loved. But she just didn't expect for him to explode like that and how out of control the entire situation got.

Everything around her moved in slow motion. Out of the corners of her eyes, Sofia saw the unsure guards approaching them. Beside her, Amber was still yelling at James to call of the guards, which James just screamed back that he'll do it only when Sofia tells him the truth. Baileywick and Cedric were beside James, trying to reason with him.

Every voice in the room was rising and it was all pure chaos. Sofia could practically feel all of the fear and anger as they mixed; it was like a dark storm cloud was above this room and striking everyone in the room with bolts of fury and terror.

Then her mother caught her eye. She was standing there in the middle of it all, too frightened to move a muscle. All color drained out of her and looking like she might faint any minute.

_Mom…_ Sofia thought, her mind returning to what happened to her after news broke of King Roland II's death. Everyone looked to Queen Miranda for guidance, but she was still mourning and too paralyzed with grief to do anything. She couldn't carry on the kingdom and was simply overwhelmed by it all; she nearly drove herself mad by the workload and stress.

She just couldn't handle it, not with the love of her life gone from her side. Her broken heart kept her immobilized in the castle. So when James first exiled them all, she was close to breaking, but the serenity and peacefulness of the countryside healed her just a bit. Sofia remembered how much happier her mom became the moment they were out in the fresh open air and away from the court of Enchancia.

Honestly, Sofia was surprised that her mother even agreed to accompany her and Amber back to the castle. She was so sure that her mother would disagree to the entire plan and would want nothing to do with James and the kingdom. But she came with them and now here she is, pale and near to fainting….

Thinking of a quick plan to save her mom and sister first, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "stop!"

Sofia's scream broke through all of the chaos, silencing and freezing everyone in the room. Looking James right in the eye, she negotiated with him, "James, I'll only tell you what you want to know _only if_ you promise me that mom and Amber will return safely back to our estate and that you'll _never_," her voice grew hard and threatening, "use her against me or Amber ever again."

Finished, she stared long at him in the completely silenced room, everyone staring at her in disbelief. Sofia felt Amber take her hand in hers and holding on tightly as the two sisters both stood protectively around their mother.

A few minutes passed before James ever replied, "Fine, you have my kingly word that both she and Amber will return–"

"No!" Queen Miranda screamed, all heads turned to the Queen Mother in shock, "no, only have me return to the estate!"

"Mom?" both girls said, shocked that their usually peaceful mother raised her voice.

"Amber, you need to stay with Sofia! Protect her and keep watch over her. Please!"

"No, mom, only I'm staying back. You and Amber are going home first, where it's safe. I'll be back before you know it."

"Sofia!" Amber yelled, her voice cracking from all of the screaming she did earlier. "You can't be serious! You can't stay here alone, not with that monster!" she motioned at James.

"Sofia, please, let Amber stay with you here. I'd sleep better knowing that you two are together here."

"But mom, _I'd_ sleep better knowing that you're not all alone at the estate. What about all of the shoes you have to repair and return?"

"I'm not alone, Sofia," she said, "I have Marie and Abbey at the estate and Thomas is there too, remember?" taking Sofia's free hand into hers and giving her a small, gentle smile. "_Please_, Sofia."

"Mom–" Sofia tried, cut off by Amber.

"I agree with mom, Sofia," Amber said, "I can't leave my little sister here and you know that no number of guards can place me into that carriage. I _will_ fight back if I have to, Sofia," looking into Sofia's eyes, dead serious.

"How about this," James said, breaking the three women's touching moment, "I send with her, ten more butlers and maids? Will that make you feel more certain about sending her home alone, Sofia?"

Looking back and forth from James to Amber and her mother, Sofia was conflicted. She didn't want to send her mother back home alone, but she knew that nothing will change Amber's mind about staying. Sofia knew she made an agreement to stay and somehow save James, but Amber didn't. Amber wasn't asked to save him; she didn't have to come along. She could be home, safe with their mom.

But before Sofia could reply, she was quickly cut off again by Amber, "make it twenty and you have a deal!"

"Amber!" Sofia scolded.

"Very well," James said, not bothering to hear a word Sofia had left to say. "Ladies, say your goodbyes. Guards, please take Queen Miranda back to the carriage and escort her safely back to her estate."

Beat, Sofia gave up and turned to her mom, "mom–"

"It's okay, Sofia. I'll be fine," she said. "Just promise me that you two will be safe and return to me as quickly as possible?"

"We promise," Amber said since Sofia could only nod, feeling a lump growing in her throat.

Hugging Sofia, Queen Miranda whispered in her ear, "I see it, Sofia. Despite all of this madness, I can see that there is still good in him."

All Sofia could do was simply hug her even tighter and as they watch their mother leave the room with the guards, small tears pooled into each of the girls' eyes.

Wiping her eyes and bracing herself, Sofia turned back around to face James.

**_James_**

It was all out of control, pure chaos roamed the throne room. Angry screams and shouts were being thrown everywhere and he was only adding to it by yelling back at his twin, Amber. He couldn't get a hold on his anger, nothing could contain it back inside him and he just watched as it controlled very word coming out of his mouth. Everything just escalated so fast and it was all out of his hands now. Like a slippery snake, no matter how hard he tried to reel it back in and regain his grip, it just bite him and attacked everyone in the room. And what was worse was that it just caused the next words to come out even more venomous than the last.

He knew that trying to threaten Sofia would do nothing because she was so damn stubborn, but it was just thrown out of his mouth from his anger. He had no real control over it and seeing her afraid only brought him a few seconds of joy, moments later he cursed himself for being the cause of her fear. More than anything, he wants to be the reason why she smiles and not give her anymore reasons to hate him.

Beside him, he barely heard Baileywick or Cedric trying to calm him down, but that did nothing and he just continued to shout back insults to Amber and yelling for the guards to grab hold of his mom. His rage was just being fueled even more because they just stood there unsure of what to do, yet moving so slow towards the queen and two princesses.

Then he heard this incredibly loud shout that froze everything around him and looking at the source, he was too stunned to move. He suddenly didn't know what to do or feel besides just staring at this amazing red cheeked and fiery eyed young lady before him. She was breathing heavily, obvious that she used almost every ounce of her might to scream at the top of her lungs. Looking right at him, she squared her shoulders and glared at him, and the next thing he knew, she was negotiating with him.

Once again, Sofia has amazed him by the way she spoke to him like she was talking to a person, not a king or the monster he was. Her head raised and held high, she said every word with the dignity and grace of a princess but she didn't talk down to him. No, she spoke to him like they were equals but conveyed every meaning in her words to him and he heard each one, even the way her tone became thick and solemn, nose flaring to show how serious she was being, that she wouldn't take any of his crap and might even beat a yes out of him.

But then, certain words of hers rang out to him. _Mom and Amber will return…_, he thought. _Not Sofia! _Suddenly, he wanted her to stay. He _needed_ her to stay here and remain beside him. James just knew that he needed her, that she was his saving light. That she was the only thing that can keep him sane and maybe, just maybe, happy….

Every fiber in him now shouted for him to think of a way to get her to stay, but then he saw that moment between the three of them…. James couldn't say a word; he couldn't if he wanted to. They were in a world all their own, a tender and loving world that he knew he doesn't belong in anymore. He was an outsider, destined to only watch and… envy….

Now, instead of thinking of keeping Sofia, he only thought of trying to make amends for threatening his mother and trying to ease Sofia's worries. And he just quietly sat there as their mother walked out of the room, not knowing what to do but just watch and silently saying his own goodbye.

Then she turned around and faced him with the same squared shoulders and raised head.

"Alright, James," Sofia frowned, "this is how it's going to go, you and I are going to take turns asking and _honestly_ answering each question. That's all."

Fazed by her brashness, he didn't respond right away.

Then he saw how glossy her eyes looked, _she was crying_… he thought and then shame and guilt washed over him. _Crap!_

He wanted to apologize, to simply hold Sofia and tell her how sorry he was. Sorry that he caused her to cry, sorry that he exploded at her, and sorry for everything that he's ever done, but he can't do that with Amber glaring daggers at him. He just needed Sofia alone with him, to say it all honestly.

Then an idea popped into his head.

"Alright," James began, "but only if Amber goes to her room and wait until we're done, I'll even have all of the guards leave the room so that it is only you and me. One-on-One."

"What?! Like hell that'll happen!" Amber exclaimed and continued to curse him out before Sofia placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"It's okay, Amber. Just go and wait, I'll be fine here."

"Sofia!" Amber protested.

"_Trust me_, I promise I'll be fine."

"Fine…" Amber grumbled, and before she left the room, she then turned to James with a warning look, "hurt her and I swear I'll go through all of the guards just to kill you myself."

As the guards were leaving, James had two chairs brought out into the center of the room and motioned for Sofia to take a seat.

"Ladies first," James said after joining Sofia and sitting across from her.

"Why did you call us all back here?"

"Because I wanted to know who that guy sitting next to you was," James answered immediately. "Who is he?"

"His name is Thomas and he's our neighbor's boy that works as Mom's assistant."

Unsatisfied with her answer, James forgot about their agreement and continued for more. "What–"

"My turn, remember?" Sofia said, cutting him off. "Why did the image of Thomas on the crystal ball bother you so much?"

James just looked at her, not knowing how to answer her question, "I… don't know…."

"That's not an answer, James."

"I'm being serious Sofia, I honestly don't know. I can't answer as to why this Thomas guy bothers me, but he just does. I just got really mad at him for sitting next to you and making you laugh…. I'm sorry Sofia…."

"For what?"

"For losing it on you, for threatening mom, for making you cry," James said, looking at his hands in his lap. "For everything…."

_Dammit, I can't even look at her in the eyes to apologize to her._

James didn't hear Sofia respond, and after a while of just staring at his lap, he looked up to see Sofia just looking at him like she was evaluating him or something. And the two just sat there in the echoing silence of the throne room.

"Sofia…," James pleaded. "Say something…."

And then, she finally did. "Do you mean it? Do you mean what you're saying?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "Yes, I meant every word I said, Sofia. I am truly and incredibly sorry for everything."

Sofia went quite again, just sitting there like she was thinking to herself.

Since James already said what he wanted to, he decided to just tell her everything he felt. That it was now or never because he might not ever get the same chance to talk to her like this ever again.

"Sofia, I need you." James blurted out. His heart was pumping and beating a million miles a minute, making him pour everything out as fast as possible before his mind shuts him up. "Look Sofia, I don't know why but I just know I need you here with me. I just have this gut feeling that you're my light or something and that you keep me feeling sane or at least normal. And maybe, with you here, I'll figure it out as to just why I have this desire to have you here next to me."

"James," she said, but once it got out, he couldn't stop and _everything _began to come out.

"Sof," James said, calling her by her old childhood nickname, "for the last few years now, I could feel myself sinking into this dark, dark place in my mind. It was like I was drowning and I didn't even try to fight my way back up. I was ready to just give up and let it consume me whole, but then you started to appear in my dreams and then there was light. Like I could somehow breathe again and find my way back slowly. Sof, _you're_ my light."

Looking her in the eyes, he just kept on going as she sat there with a stunned expression, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. He just wanted to say it all, to have no regrets. Then maybe she'll believe every word he's saying and want to stay here with him. Hell, he'll even bring Mom back just to see it'll convince her if she said no.

"When you came back to the castle, Sof, I knew that it was the best decision I've made all year because of how you calmed down that whole situation earlier. With just one word, you stopped everything and somehow solved it all. _You _calmed _me_ down. I felt it, Sof, and I just know that if you're here, then things will get better. So please," he begged, "say you'll stay here, at least for a while. I _need_ you."

Again, James and Sofia sat there in silence, looking at each other as James waited for Sofia to say something… anything. He didn't know how many minutes or hours passed before she even moved her mouth to form a word or sound.

"James, I don't know if I trust you enough or not right now…," she began, "and what I _can_ trust is my gut and it's telling me that you're telling the truth. All I know right now is that I… actually believe you. I believe your words and what you just said, that you saying everything honestly. But I still can't trust you, at least for now I hope. So… I guess what I'm saying is… yes."

When those words were uttered out of her mouth, it took everything in him to just remain seated in his chair. James was filled with bliss and exhilaration, he wanted to just take her into his arms and jump happily around the entire room. _She said yes!_

"Yes, I'll stay here with you at the castle," she continued, "_only_ if you let Amber stay too and hear out our conditions when we show it to you later."

"Yes, yes, of course." James couldn't help the big smile that broke out onto his face. He was just too happy to hear that she agreed to stay here with him.

"James, I don't know how long I'm willing to stay here, but–"

"Absolutely, I understand," he said quickly, too happy to even care what else she was going to saw, still smiling big and bright.

"James," Sofia sighed.

And then when he didn't think his day couldn't get any better, Sofia smiled back at him. Her smile was small, it wasn't big like the one he saw in the crystal ball but it still has the same effect on him either way. It was like time and the earth stood still for him, James couldn't bring himself to look away from something so beautiful. Her smile was soft and gentle, just like her….

_I made her smile! _James thought. _I freaking made her smile!_

"Okay, James," Sofia said as she stood up from her seat. "I'm sure Amber is worried about me right now, so I'm going to go check up on her. I'll see you later."

"Ah! Um…," James hasted, not wanting to this moment between them to end. "I'll see you two at dinner, right?"

"Alright," she said with another smile, gently patting his hand and leaving the room.

All James could do was just sit there and watch her as she left, leaving him to his delighted thoughts. Several moments after just sitting there, smiling to himself like an idiot, Baileywick returned with various piles of paperwork he had to get done and James nearly skipped with joy his entire way to his study in the library.

**_Sofia_**

Walking to Amber's old room, Sofia couldn't get what just happened between her and James out of her mind. She honestly didn't expect to see that side of James at all, the way he looked so guilt-ridden and ashamed over everything that happened earlier. Sofia was just so stunned to see him hanging his head so low and the way he couldn't look at her when apologizing. She could only just sit there, unable to say a word.

When James finally looked up at her, she saw human emotions in him for the first time since she arrived late this morning, something that she believed was gone and dead inside of him.

For that long moment between them, she kept on searching his face for any hint of lies so that she can just prepare herself for the inevitable hurt, but she saw none. She only saw raw, honest emotions. It was like she felt them too and she just knew then that there was hope in him. The honesty, the emotions, everything that happened in that room between them convinced her to stay, to save the light in James.

_There's a chance to save him after all…,_ Sofia thought.

* * *

Chapter three! Woo!

Thank you to all those who read and reviewed the past two chapters, I love all of your amazing words and I can't thank you all enough. I'm so happy at how well this series was received by you guys!

Again, please read and review this chapter. Tell me what and who you guys are excited to see in the future chapters, be honest yet mature and respectful. Chapter four should be up a couple of days from now.

Thanks :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 4: Memories from That Night**

**_Sofia_**

Sofia arrived to Amber's old childhood room and gently knocked on the door, "It's Sofia. Can I come in?"

Through the door, Sofia could hear Amber running towards the door and she didn't even wait until the door was fully opened before taking Sofia into a tight sisterly hug.

"Sofia!" Amber cried as she just held her there in the opened doorway.

_Everything in here stayed the same too,_ Sofia thought as she looked around the room behind her older sister, _like it was all untouched…._

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened? I'll kill him!" Amber sped as she led Sofia to two chairs in her room's sitting area, her eyes focused on Sofia and obliterating any thought Sofia had about the room.

"Amber, calm down. There's no need to hurt James." Sofia gently laughed. "One question at a time, please."

"Alright, you're right." Amber released a deep sigh. "So since you're here in one piece, I take it that you're okay and unharmed, right?" she said, giving Sofia a wary eye.

"Yes, he didn't hurt me in any way," Sofia answered.

"Good. So what happened?"

And the two sisters just sat there as Sofia recalled the events after Amber left, telling her about how James apologized and begged her to stay here at the castle and that she saw something in him that is indeed worth saving. Sofia gave Amber every detail about their conversation and tried to answer each question her older sister had.

"He called you _his light_?" Amber said, after Sofia finished. "Wow…."

"I know…. I couldn't believe it either when I heard it myself."

"So what happens now? You agreed that we would both stay at the castle, and I know you did it because you saw some light in him, but how are you going to go about it? How do you plan to save him?"

"I honestly don't know… _yet_. As of right now, I'm just winging it."

"Okay, I don't know how it's going to go, but I'm with you one hundred percent," Amber said with a smile and giving Sofia's hand a small squeeze. "Whatever you need, Sofia, I'm right here."

It made Sofia smile when she heard her sister, knowing that she's not entirely alone on this crazy rescue mission and she enjoyed the feeling of safety that grew in her stomach, a feeling that, for the past five years, only Amber could make Sofia feel.

Then they heard a knock at her door, "Your Highnesses, it's Baileywick."

"Enter!" Amber said.

In walked their royal steward with Sir Michelson and another handsome young guard right behind him. The man was as tall as Sir Michelson and he had red hair and nice green eyes that matched together with his easy smile.

"Your Highnesses, since I was informed that you two will be staying with us for an undetermined amount of time, I thought that it would be best to have two of our most loyal and capable palace guards as your own personal guards."

"Baileywick, what do you mean 'most loyal palace guards'?" Amber said, confused because she was asleep when Sir Michelson informed Sofia and the Queen Mother that almost all of the castle guards are still loyal to her and the remaining royal family, not James.

"Princess Amber," Baileywick's voice dropped into a hushed whisper, "Cedric and I have long ago created a secret society that consists of only those who are still loyal to only you and the remaining royal family. Many do not agree with how James took the throne from your father, a lot of the subjects want you or Princess Sofia as queen. But for as long James is king, we all vowed to protect only you, Princess Sofia, and Queen Miranda since many do not trust King James and his methods. So as a way to ensure the safety of you two while you are here under the same roof as King James, I have placed Sir Michelson and Sir Edwards as your personal guards."

"But I thought you believed there was still good in James, why have this extra protection?" Sofia asked, confused by Baileywick's action.

"I do, Princess Sofia. It's just that, while we are waiting for him to be saved, he is still so unpredictable and after this morning's fiasco, we all thought that it would be best to have some extra precaution to make sure you two are still safe and sound at the end of the day."

"Okay, I see your point Baileywick," Amber said, nodding her approval.

"Very good," Baileywick said with a contented smile. "Princess Sofia, Sir Michelson will be your guard while Sir Edwards is Princess Amber's," he said, motioning over to each respective person in the room, "introduce yourselves and get acquainted. I have many businesses to take care of, so I'll be off."

And with a bow, Baileywick pivoted and left the room.

"Your Highnesses," both men said in unison with a respective bow to the two girls who curtsied in return.

Sir Michelson was the first to speak, "Princess Amber, Princess Sofia, I am Sir Michelson and this is Sir Edwards."

"Yes, I believe Baileywick has already identified for us who is who," Amber playfully teased with a giggle, which caused Sir Michelson's cheeks to turn a light pink.

"Amber," Sofia nagged.

"It's quite alright, Princess Sofia," Sir Michelson said, gently shaking his head, "It was my fault for fumbling with my words. I'm just nervous, that's all."

"What do you have to be nervous about? You met and escorted us earlier this morning?" Sofia asked.

"Yes, but I didn't think I would get the chance to see you – er, um, you two again," he said, his cheeks reddening even more and, remembering his kiss on her hand, Sofia's cheeks to blush too. Thankfully, just light enough for Amber to not pick up on.

Clearing her throat in hopes to make it even and normal again, Sofia said with a positive smile, "Well umm… since you'll be around us a lot, let's hope that your nervousness will go away fast, Sir Michelson."

"Yes, Your Highness," he said, returning a shy smile to Sofia.

"Would you two like a seat?" asked Sofia, motioning to the two extra seats across from the sisters. "Since Amber and I were told to get to know you two better, I think it might be best to sit and have some afternoon tea while we're at it. Would you two like to join us?"

"Oh we couldn't, Your Highness," said Sir Edwards. "It isn't our place to eat with royalty."

"Nonsense," Sofia said, "I say it's alright for you two to join us. So come and sit."

"But Princess Sofia–" Sir Edwards began but was cut off by Amber.

"Oh! I have a better idea than sitting around and snacking!" Amber exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement and rushing over to her balcony's glass doors. "Let's go for a stroll around the garden as we get to know one another! I haven't seen the garden in such a long time and it's only a little past noon, so why not? Hmm?"

"It is a beautiful day outside." Sofia contemplated and looked over at the two young men, "is that alright with you two? Sir Edwards? Sir Michelson?"

"I don't recall a regulation against simply strolling with royalty," Sir Michelson said with a smile to Sir Edwards.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Amber squealed over her shoulder as she rummaged through her massive tiara closet.

"Amber, what are you doing?" Sofia asked as she walked over to her sister half buried inside her tiara collection.

"Looking for a 'strolling' tiara…," Amber responded. "Ah! Found it!"

Amber finally emerged out of her closet holding a silver tiara designed with a metal flower in the center and several other petals surrounding it, deep pink gems bedazzled into the center of the flower and around the petals.

_That's a new one_, Sofia thought. It always amazed her at the numbers of tiaras and crowns Amber had on her large shelves, and even with the many years they've been together, Sofia still hasn't seen all of Amber's tiaras.

"Oh Sofia," Amber sighed, answering to Sofia's one raised eyebrow and nagging look, "I haven't seen my babies in five years, I want to let them out and see them shine in the sun."

When they were forced to leave the castle as fast as possible, Amber and Sofia didn't have time to pack all of their belongings. They were simply put into a carriage with whatever the servants packed into the small suitcases and shipped off into the countryside. Amber was furious at what she saw in her luggage, only a five of her designer gowns and matching slippers. Sofia remembered, Amber screamed the number at her and their mother when they arrived a few hours later. Sofia even remembered the first few nights when Amber cried to herself because they had to leave all of her tiaras behind.

Looking at Amber now, how happy she is to be reunited with her tiaras, Sofia didn't have it in her to nag and chide her older sister. Not when, for the past five years, Amber had grown and matured so much, even learning to live with only flower tiaras she made for herself and the towns children.

Relenting, Sofia heaved a heavy sigh and simply smiled at her sister, who squealed happily and returned to looking through her closet devoted to only her tiaras.

"Wait, why are you looking through it again? I thought you already chose one to stroll with." Sofia said.

"I did, but I just want to see what else I have in here," she said into her closet.

Sofia suddenly felt a presence beside her and looked up to her left find Sir Michelson close at her side. Looking down at her, he smiled shyly back which made Sofia blush and look embarrassingly back to her sister. Out of the corner of her eye, Sofia saw that Sir Michelson was almost a head taller than her, the top of her head just made it above his jaw.

_He really is handsome, _Sofia thought, bashfully smiling to herself.

"Oh! Sofia!" Amber's exclamation made Sofia jump, believing that she was caught gazing at Sir Michelson by her sister.

"Yes!" Sofia squeaked, her voice too high even to her own ears.

Amber took her hands and was dragging her towards the door, "we should go over to your room and find your old tiaras too!"

"No, no. It's fine, Amber," Sofia protested as they made their way to Sofia's old room down the hall. "I don't mind not having a tiara on me."

"Nonsense, Sofia." Amber said as she opened the door and quickly rushed to her closet.

Inside of her closet, Sofia saw that many of her old gowns were still hanging inside; rows and rows of various purple gowns that she obviously cannot fit into anymore. She reached out and skimmed them with her fingertips as she walked past them, each gown bringing back many happy memories. Sofia even spotted her old and worn out purple dress from her childhood, the same one she would always wear around the castle.

With her back to Amber, Sofia reached out and removed her old dress from its hanger, gently touching the still soft fabric and smiling at the memories that came with the precious dress. Sofia could still feel the innocence of her childhood on the seams of her dress, the innocent and hopeful young girl that wasn't exposed to the ugliness of the world. Her heart wasn't as hard as it is now and she still believed in the love that she shared with her older brother.

_So much of the happy times we had as a family were when I wore this dress_, Sofia thought wistfully. _I miss them…. _

"I remember that dress," Amber said quietly, suddenly at her side and holding her old purple tiara in her hands. "It was your favorite as a kid."

"Yeah…," Sofia responded, her voice small and close to breaking. "I miss the little girl that would always wear this dress… and the times she had in it."

Sofia stood rooted at her spot, unable to let the dress out of her hands. Afraid that if she were to release it, then all of the good memories would vanish with it.

"Well, I don't," Amber said, facing Sofia and softly placing the tiara into her hair, "because she's right here in front of me. And I know that with _me _helping her, we'll get those happy times again."

With a light laugh, Sofia smiled at her sister. "You always knew just what to say, huh?"

"Of course, it's one of my _many _gifts," Amber boasted as she smoothed out Sofia's hair. "There, now the tiara is back home, where it belongs."

"Thank you, Amber."

Amber just smiled brightly at her little sister and took Sofia's arm into hers. "Now, I believe we have kept our two handsome young guards waiting long enough."

The two sisters walk out of the closet to find their patiently waiting guards, Sir Michelson giving Sofia another bashful smile that made her blush again and her heart skip a beat.

_Why do I keep blushing whenever he smiles at me? I don't get it…_, Sofia thought.

Ever since she was young, Sofia never noticed any other boy before because she only saw them as friends or buddies, never in a romantic type of way. From her times on the flying derby team to how she just hung around the boys in the village, she has yet to meet a boy that made her blush. She always just stood behind her beautiful sister and let her bask in the attention from all of the boys because Sofia was never comfortable with all of it. She was contented with just letting Amber have all of the boys' affections, Sofia just wanted their friendship. Sofia could always tell when a boy liked her and she would make sure to clearly tell them that she only saw them as friends because no boy has ever made her heart flutter or skip a beat…. That is, until now.

As they made their way to the castle's garden, Amber started out the afternoon's series of questions. Sofia learned that both men are twenty-one and are longtime friends that trained together for over six years. Sir Michelson dislikes radishes and the yolk of an egg, but he likes all kinds of desserts, is an avid reader, and enjoys quite starry nights. Sir Edwards enjoys sword practices, running, and is a flying derby rider. He dislikes repairing his ripped shirts and anything that has to do with a needle, and long hot days.

As the day went on and everyone got to know each other well enough, Amber wanted to split up and walk alone with their respective guards, but to return in time for snacks. With her arm in Sir Michelson's, Sofia and her handsome guard walked and chatted as they strolled towards the far back of the garden.

Being so close to this handsome guard, Sofia could feel her cheeks grow hot but the longer she was with him and the better she got to know him, her nerves eased just a little. He made her laugh and relaxed with his sweet smile as they just talked about themselves and the two lost track of time.

"Sir Michelson, may I ask why did you join the royal guard?" Sofia continued with her questions as they walked past the many rose bushes.

"Well, Your Highness," Sir Michelson responded, "it has been a family tradition for all of the men in my family to go into some sort of military service out of honor and duty. Both my father and grandfather were knights, my two older brothers are soldiers in the King's army."

"Wow…."

"Yeah," he said with a small laugh, "I know. So I decided to join the castle guards because they protect the king and his royal family every hour of every day. And what's more honorable than that?"

"Oh nothing, of course," she teased, laughing.

But then, something behind Sir Michelson caught her eyes, ceasing all of the laughs out of her.

She and Sir Michelson had such a good time simply talking and laughing with each other that she didn't notice when they strolled into the area of the garden where all sandstone busts of every royal family members who have past were placed.

Sofia walked absently as she quickened her pace towards the busts. She heard Sir Michelson say her name but it sounded distant and far away. The only thing that was on her mind was the busts.

Sofia was unable to say a word as she looked around her, faces of every member of the royal family staring right at her. Lifeless, their eyes held her gaze and the further down she went, the more familiar the faces got. And eventually, she made it to where the most recent members of the family who have died were placed. Sofia was face to face with her father's and aunt's bust.

Then, memories of the night that changed everything flooded her mind.

It was a few weeks after James discovered his father's old notes up in the attic and confronted him about it. Things began to settle but there was still tension between James and King Roland II.

Sofia was only thirteen when it all happened. She and Amber were in the royal family room with her mother, their aunt, Duchess Matilda, and her husband, Sir Bartleby. Amber was playing the harp with their Aunt Tilly while Sofia was sewing a flower onto a small handkerchief beside her mother. King Roland was in his room finishing up some paperwork and James just recently excused himself to the bathroom.

In the beginning, it was all just a regular family night. Quiet and peaceful.

Until she and her family heard a horrific scream coming from upstairs. Then everyone rushed towards the sound. All of the adults, the guards, and the staff rushed to the continuing screams and was all shocked to the core at what they found.

James covered in blood and standing over the lifeless body of the king.

Everything was dead silent. No one said a single word. The only sound made that night was James's heavy breathing, like he had just finished stabbing his father with the large sword in his hands.

The first person to make a move was Sir Bartleby.

Slowly, the newly wedded knight walked towards the bloodied prince with his hands up, asking him to put down the sword.

James just looked at the knight and let the sword fall to the floor with a loud clang. Then he just walked out without saying a word and returned to his room.

Once they heard his bedroom door slam shut, everything became chaotic. Hysterical cries from their Aunt Tilly and Mother, loud questions were angrily thrown at Baileywick, and Sofia and Amber were just pushed off into the corner. Sofia remembered trying to shield Amber from looking at their father's body and simply holding Amber as she cried into her arms.

Next, Sofia heard Baileywick cry out orders to have the king's body taken away and everything cleaned up. She then felt herself being picked up by her uncle and saw that Amber was lifted into her mother's arms, their aunt was right beside her mother. They were trying to rush her and Amber out of the room as fast as possible.

In her ear, she heard Sir Bartleby say to her that they are going to be taken to a safe place and outside of the room, she saw guards breakdown James's door, but then loud screams filled the hallway and her uncle froze in his place.

Turning around, she saw that James managed to kill and slash five of the palace guards. More blood covered her brother and made him practically unrecognizable.

It was like he was possessed, he moved in swift movements and in just one motion he disabled and killed all of the guards in the hallway.

Then, her uncle placed Sofia into her aunt's arms and pulled out his sword. Cursing at James, Sir Bartleby rushed towards him and attacked. The knight swung his sword at James, but her brother managed to stop it with just a swing of his own. Their swords swished and slashed at each other, and Sir Bartleby continued to hit him with everything he's got, but James managed to disarm him quickly and just stabbed him in the heart. Sir Bartleby then fell to the ground, dead.

Her aunt screamed and fell to the floor with Sofia in her arms, her eyes never leaving her husband's body. Sofia remembered how haggard her aunt's breathing became and suddenly feeling her nails dig into Sofia's arms. As if she forgot about Sofia, her Aunt Tilly gently pushed her into a nearby corner and grabbed one of the fallen guard's swords. She charged at James full force, but was instantly slashed and killed by him.

Sofia couldn't move from her corner as she watched her aunt fall to the ground and try to crawl towards her husband. Aunt Tilly never made it and died trying to reach her husband's hand.

James walked over all of the bodies and towards the exit of the hallway, not saying a word. When he passed by Sofia, he stopped and bent down to where she was huddled in her corner. Eye to eye with him, the lifelessness in James's eyes froze her in her place. James then reached out and touched her cheek, even his hands were ice cold.

Sofia didn't flinch, she didn't move a muscle. Not until James got up and left the hallway.

Sofia was then lifted into Baileywick's arms and marched over towards her mother and Amber. He ushered them into a nearby room and locked it until it was safe enough to leave. As he was trying to clean Amber's and Sofia's face off, Baileywick was later notified that James was in the throne room wearing the King's crown and James didn't move from that spot all night.

The next day, Sofia woke up to the news that James had their father, aunt, and uncle hastily buried into the family crypt, and that he decided to lock the three women into their respective rooms. Three days later, she and her mother and sister were taken out of their beds and told that they are now in exile.

Everything from that brutal and bloody night was scarred into Sofia's mind, from how big the puddle of blood was to how many bodies laid on the ground. But the clearest memory from that night wasn't the gory details, but rather, how empty and hollow James's eyes were. She remembered the fear from that night, of how her legs were too weak to run to James and see if he was alright.

And for the past five years, she wondered that if she did do that, then maybe things would have turned out differently.

Then Sofia felt like someone was shaking her and yelling her name.

"Sofia…Sofia!" Sir Michelson yelled, looking worryingly into her eyes and gently shaking her with both of his hands on her shoulders.

Sofia snapped out of it and felt warm tears running down her cheeks. Sofia did not shed a single tear all of those three days she was locked in, not until she faced James and he coldly told her to leave. Then, all tears in her froze and she hasn't cried since. But why is she crying now?

"Princess Sofia, are you alright? I've been calling your name for the past few minutes now." Sir Michelson said, bending a little to eye level so he could search her eyes to see if anything is wrong.

Sofia was unable to respond at first, her mind was still filled with the memories that shocked and attacked her.

"Princess Sofia?" Sir Michelson asked again, his faced etched with even more worry.

Absently wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Sofia finally found her voice, choked with the still unshed tears. "I'm alright."

"Are you sure? Because most people don't start crying for no reason," he said, cautiously smiling lopsidedly at her.

Really looking at Sir Michelson now, as if she just noticed him right in front of her, Sofia saw a different kind of honesty in his eyes. A soft, quite honesty that drastically differed from James's raw honesty and made her feel like she could tell him anything.

"It's just…," Sofia began, now looking at her aunt's and father's bust behind her guard. "When I saw the busts, it was like… I…. My mind was just flooded with… all of these memories… from…." Sofia stopped, unable to continue as the lump in her throat grew with every word that came out of her mouth.

"From the night King Roland II was killed," Sir Michelson finished for her.

All Sofia could do was nod as she wiped a stray tear.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said to her, handing her a handkerchief, probably understanding that more tears threatened to pour out of her any minute now. "My words may not mean much because I wasn't there that night, but I am sorry for your loss. King Roland was an excellent king. He and his sister did not deserve to die the way they did, and you do not deserve this type of grief."

Taken aback by his intensity, Sofia just offered him a weak smile. "Thank you, Sir Michelson."

He smiled back in return and nodded. The two then just stood there quietly and looking at the busts.

The busts captured her father's handsomeness and her aunt's beauty. Her father's strong jawline and brows stood out like they did when he was alive, but it was his gentleness in his eyes that outshined them all. Even in her aunt's bust, her quirkiness and bright smile was managed to be captured and stood out the most. Just behind her aunt's bust was Sir Bartleby's, his handsomeness and quite strength contrasting well with her aunt's wackiness.

They were only married a year long before they passed. The image of their fingers so far apart as they lay dying still haunt Sofia.

"Sofia!" Amber's voice broke through the comforting silence between Sofia and Sir Michelson. "There you are! You and Sir Michelson didn't return for snacks back in the gazebo, so I got –" she cut off, probably noticing Sofia's tearstained cheeks and the busts. "Oh, Sofia…," she said, immediately understanding, taking her into a hug.

The moment she was in Amber's arms, the tears instantly flowed out of her and the only sound that could be heard was Sofia's soft cries. Five years worth of tears just emptied out of Sofia and she didn't know how long she stood with her arms wrapped around her sister, just crying until she couldn't cry any more. The entire time, Amber just whispered encouraging words and the two men stood respectfully away as the sisters embraced each other.

It was funny how on that night five years ago, it was Sofia holding and comforting Amber as she cried into her shoulder, but now, it was the other way around.

"Sofia, are you feeling better?" Amber asked after several moments Sofia's sniffling finished and to that Sofia just smiled appreciatively and nodded. "Alright, how about we go back and get some snacks?"

On their way back, Amber began to talk about some of the things she learned about Sir Edwards and Sofia was grateful for her sister's obvious attempt to take her mind off of the busts. By the time they reached the gazebo, the mood had lightened tremendously. All afternoon and well into the evening, the foursome talked and ate until their hearts' content and cheeks couldn't take anymore wide smiles and laughter.

Close to dinnertime, they all returned to the castle so that the princesses could freshen up, and Sofia and Sir Michelson simply laughed and talked the entire way.

"I still cannot believe that Sir Edwards's first name is Edward!" Sofia laughed hard, her eyes close to watering.

"I had the same reaction when I first learned it too!" Sir Michelson laughed along.

"So, what's your first name?" Sofia asked through some giggles.

"Mine?" he asked, still laughing at the previous jokes. "Why would you want to know, Princess?"

"Well," Sofia blushed, unable to look at him, "it's only fair to Sir Edwards that you tell. And because… since we spent all day getting to know each other, I believe that we can be friends and friends call each other by their first names. You can call me Sofia if you would like, Sir Michelson."

Obviously stifling a laugh at her awkwardness, Sir Michelson responded as they stopped in front of her room, "It's Cyrus, _Sofia_."

She liked the way he said her name, it just rolled off his tongue so soft and smooth. Her body almost moved on its own, wanting to lean towards _Cyrus_ and just hear him say her name over and over again.

_Wait, what?_ She mentally shook her head. Quickly saving herself, "Yes – Well, I… I will see you tomorrow, _Cyrus_," and with that, she retreated back into her room to get ready for her first dinner with James.

Sofia managed to get dressed rather quickly and found herself almost half an hour ahead of time. So to waste time, she decided to go to the library and find a book to read as she waited for the time being. But the moment she walked into the library, she stopped in her tracks.

There was James with his head back, asleep.

* * *

Chapter four!

Again, I am grateful to all of those that read and reviewed this series! I just love all of your guys' feedback and I'm so happy about how much love this series of mine is getting.

I was getting a lot of messages with questions about what happened that night when Roland died, so I decided to make it in Sofia's POV to show you all her side of it all and I also wanted to introduce the other corner in this little love triangle I'm trying to do. Please don't hate me I promise that the next chapter will have a lot more James X Sofia moments AND you might be seeing a few more familiar faces soon. Plus, I'm thinking of putting up a chapter with only James's POV to show you all his side of the story about what happened that night too.

Please read and review, etc. etc.

Thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 5: James's Guilt**

_**James**_

James felt a small, tender hand was on his shoulder gently trying to shake him awake, but he didn't want to wake up from his long needed nap. After finishing all of the paperwork he pushed off earlier today just so that he could see Sofia, he was so tired that he slept right in his cushioned seat in the royal library.

"James…. James…." James vaguely heard his name being called by someone with a sweet, angelic voice.

But James wouldn't have it and grumbled some incoherent response for whoever to just let him sleep some more.

"James, come on. Wake up," said the person, clearly impatient for him to wake up. "James, it's almost dinnertime."

_Just let me have five more minutes of sleep_, James thought and probably mumbled aloud. _I finally had a nice dream in months._

And his mind wandered back to his peaceful dream, trying to remember what happened in his dream. But when that failed him, he was only left with the fact that Sofia hadn't appeared not once throughout the entire thing. There was no crying Sofia haunting him. It was all simply a random dream, and, like all dreams, he soon forgot what it was all about and simply enjoyed that he didn't wake up with guilt and fear drenched all over him.

He just wanted to relish how refreshed he feels in having the first normal rest he's had in a long time and he welcomed the fact that he didn't remember the dream. Normally, his dreams are nightmares that would haunt him night and day, but if he can't recall this dream, then maybe it probably meant that things were turning around for him.

He then heard some rustling of papers on the table in front of him and remembered all of the paperwork he did.

After he joyfully finished his conversation with Sofia, James remembered how he happily skipped into the library and saw each massive pile of documents and sitting for hours on end until he finished reading over and signing the papers. Even though he was high on a cloud from his conversation with Sofia, James's smile faltered a little from all of the paperwork and working for so long. When he did finish, it was still several hours before dinner and he was so tired, that he wanted to close his eyes just for a bit and rest. So he simply just laid his head back and awkwardly slept in his chair. Next thing he knew, he was happily dreaming and didn't wanted it to end.

James suddenly felt a warm hand on his cheek and instinctively pushed towards it, liking how pleasant it felt against his skin.

"James?" he heard again. He liked how the voice sounded worried, as if they cared about him.

Wanting to see the face of the lovely voice, James forced his eyes open and was stunned to see Sofia's beautiful face above his. And he couldn't do or say anything but stare at her incredibly blue eyes and he saw that she had small lighter blue flakes in the center of her bright eyes. She was so close to him, nearly nose to nose and he could feel her warmth reach him.

Then he noticed her lips and the sudden need from earlier today returned to him. James still didn't understand why, but he wanted so badly to just lean in and touch her lips with his. The mystery of how her lips might feel on his made his curiosity and need grow even more.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, just staring at each other in a moment that belonged to only the two of them.

_She's so beautiful_, James thought and gently placed his hand over where hers was on his cheek.

But the moment his hand was over hers, she quickly pulled away and disappeared from his field of vision.

"Sorry," Sofia quietly said, her voice was still loud in the quiet library.

"It's alright." James said as he sat upright, stretching out his aching back from his sleeping position.

His cheek felt cold from where her hand was and he misses her warmth when she was so close to him. Now she just feels so far away, even though she was still close enough for him to reach out to.

"What are you doing here?" His voice sounded raspy to his ears as he ran his hands though his hair, wanting to look decent to Sofia and fix whatever mess his hair might seem like to her.

"I… um… I had some time to spare before dinner," she stumbled as her cheeks appeared to be red, like she was embarrassed about something. "So I…. So I thought I might grab a book to read… for a… um… a while."

James couldn't help but smile at how cute Sofia looked, red cheeked and embarrassed. Compared to his fierce warrior from earlier, this flustered version of Sofia was something else entirely. He liked seeing this side of her and knowing that after all these years, Sofia still had her clumsy and bashful moments.

Then she did the one thing that completely cleared all thoughts from his mind. She bit her lips.

The way her pearly white teeth pierced onto her apple red lips that made him go mad for her. James just wanted to take her into his arms and feel how soft she might be, to just have her melt against him and see how her body would fit together with his when he embraced her.

He didn't even hear what she was saying, all he did was watch as her lips moved to form words but none of them reached his minds as the only thing that filled his thoughts was her and her mouth.

"James?" she said, snapping him out of his thoughts and looking at him with her blue eyes.

"Sorry. What?" James felt his own cheeks burn, embarrassed by his thoughts about Sofia.

"I asked why you were sleeping in the library."

"Oh," James said as he stood up from his chair and stretched some more, "I was just tired after finishing all of the paperwork Baileywick gave to me, so I just slept in my seat."

"Why didn't you go to your room?" she responded to him as she headed towards the many bookshelves and skimmed the titles. She didn't sound like she was flustered anymore and seemed relax as she looked through the books.

James simply stood where he was as he watched her, enjoying how enchanting she looked and hearing the small taps of her heels. She still wore her purple satin dress from earlier and looked the same except that she appeared to have on some blush and lipstick. Her hair was let loose from their up-do from earlier and flowed behind her in silky waves. He liked how the light from the room made her skin look like porcelain, as if she was this fragile doll that needed to be handled with care.

_Dammit! Stop gawking at her! _James thought. _She's your sister! Stop it!_

But despite all of his self-scolding thoughts, he couldn't help himself. He continued to fight the urge to reach out to her and hold her tight against him.

"I was just too tired to walk back to my room to sleep," James shrugged, his eyes never leaving her. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing in particular, just anything short and interesting to pass the time until dinner," Sofia said over her shoulder as she walked up the bookshelf latter. "Ooh! This one looks good, _Lord Earnest_ by William Wilde," and she began to flip through the book while still standing on the latter.

"That one is no good," James said as he walked closer to her and leaned on the nearby table corner. "Boring as hell, it's about some guy who whines about his life throughout the entire novel."

"You read this book?" Sofia looked down at him with a bit of disbelief, like she couldn't see him holding a book and reading for fun. A part of him could understand her shock because when they were younger all James would want to do was play and jump around. He never wanted to read for fun, and he always hated having to just sit down and look at words for hours.

But after he ascended the throne, he found himself doing just that on some days. Besides exercising, reading was the other thing that kept his mind busy and kept the dark recesses of his mind away. And for five years, James developed both his mind and body ideally. He has read nearly the entire royal library and can give intelligent discussions about each book if asked to.

"Don't act so shocked," he said jokingly, "I can read you know."

"Yes, I know that you _can _read," Sofia laughed, "but, if I remember correctly, you never _wanted_ to read."

"Well, in my free time, I _want_ to read." James cleverly responded with a smile. "And to answer your last question, I did read that book and most of the books in here."

"Really now?" Sofia said amusingly with an arched brow. "Then how about this book?" She held up a book titled, _The Test of Wit_.

"It's alright, if you like reading about some old guy with no filter talking to each guest at his daughter's wedding. It's actually a pretty funny read, if I think about it."

"Alright then, I guess I'll take this one into consideration." She placed it under one arm and continued to search through the massive book collection.

James just watched as she moved on the latter from one end of the bookshelf to the other, glancing and grabbing each book that interested her. He noticed that each novel she snagged off of the shelves were complex and thought-provoking.

"I didn't figure for you to like that type of book genre," James commented, liking how they've become relaxed and casual with one another. Almost like how it was before, where everything was easy and simple between them.

"What do you mean?" Sofia asked as she turned around on the latter and sat on a step, hugging a few more books in her arms.

"All of the books you have in your hands were all written and narrated by some old geezer and all of the plots are complicated and convoluted. Most of them have so many entanglements that it's hard to decipher what happened and the ending is most likely not going to make any sense to you."

"I like that," Sofia said bluntly. "I like it when a book makes me think and their plots are intricate and perplexing."

And before he knew it, they were exchanging ideas and opinions of what types of books they prefer. They discussed all of the novels they've read over the years and what had the best and worst plotlines. James and Sofia even had a fun time talking about which characteristics made the best heroes and heroines, and they had intelligent discussions about which characters of their favorite books and novels was better. He even learned that Sofia read more books than him back on their countryside estate, and even read most of the same novels as him.

The two just bonded for the remaining time until dinner, as if they were rekindling their old relationship. They laughed and joked like they were kids again and nothing bad happened.

James couldn't remember the last time he laughed or talked this much to anyone in a long time, and he liked seeing and hearing Sofia's laugh with him. Her laugh was like hearing gentle water running down a bank of rocks, splashing and rippling. It was refreshing to hear and he didn't want it to stop.

If it was up to him, he would never leave this library and try to keep this perfect moment between them forever.

"James," Sofia said, looking out of the window into the dark night, "I think it's best if we start making our way to the dining room."

"Yeah, I think you're right." James walked over to Sofia and held a hand out to help her down from the latter where she still sat.

When she placed her hand into his, James liked how small her hands were, like they were gentle little gems that were made just for his hands to hold. They molded to fit perfectly into his hands.

James couldn't help but notice how her hand felt just a little callused against his hand. It was still soft nonetheless, but there was still toughness to her hand's touch, something he didn't notice earlier when she had it on his cheek. Her small hand held a gentle roughness to it, like she held years' worth of hard work and sweat in her hands.

And he felt a pang in his chest when he was reminded that it was his fault that her hands are worn like this. _He_ banished them, _he_ stripped them of any help, and _he_ left them all alone to fend for themselves. It was his entire fault. She had to work and sweat and hurt her hands because he exiled her away when she should have been here and taken care of like the beautiful princess she was.

When Sofia made it down the latter, James didn't move from his spot. He just stood there, holding her hand as tightly as his chest felt and staring down at their hands together.

"James?" he heard Sofia say.

"Sofia," James said, still focused on their hands. "Your hands are a bit callused."

"Oh," Sofia said and attempted to take back her hand but James's wouldn't let her go and held on even tighter. "That's from all of the gardening and farm work Amber and I did back at the estate. Why?"

He didn't respond, but instead held up both of her hands palms up for him to see how rough each was. And his chest felt even tighter than it already was when he saw how her other hand looked the same as the one in his.

"James?" he heard again.

And without saying a word, he leaned down and kissed both of her callused palms. It was as if his body moved on its own and decided that a kiss on her palms would somehow heal all of the blisters and calluses on her hands.

Looking back up into her wide eyes, he calmly and honestly said, "I'm sorry, Sof. Your hands should never be callused and I promise to you that it won't be any more."

Sofia just stared at him with big eyes and her mouth just slightly opened, so James just continued on. "Sof, I am so sorry you ever had your hands hurt from working so hard. I can tell that it was probably blistered and it hurt like hell…. You don't know how sorry I am…."

Sofia didn't say a word and just looked at him, as if she was trying to read into him again, but for James, he hated how he couldn't read anything in her expression.

She then pulled her hands away and said quietly, "it's alright James."

His heart panged painfully again when he watched as she walked towards the door, believing she hates him for everything he did to her and the family.

But she stopped midway and turned around, relief filling his heart when he saw a small but beautiful smile on her face and heard, "aren't you coming James?"

And dinner, with Amber and Sofia to fill the normally quiet and lonely dining room, was still fairly awkward but enjoyable. James just ate and listened to Amber and Sofia talk about their day and occasionally asked questions about their businesses back in the countryside. In return, they would ask questions about Enchancia's politics and economy.

Their conversation was strained and forced, but James still liked it either way. It was good to have someone to talk to as he ate. On most days, he was always alone and isolated from everyone in the castle. No one would willingly talk to him unless it was about tasks or issues around the kingdoms, but with Sofia and Amber here, it was nice to have other people here to chat with.

Amber mostly chatted with Sofia, and James understood why. She still hated him for everything and openly resented him for having her cut off from all royal privileges for five years. Throughout dinner, he heard her angry snorts and he didn't even have to look at her to feel her spiteful glares. And Sofia had to navigate her conversation with Amber towards James just to include him, but Amber wouldn't have it. Whenever he could comment on anything in their chat, Amber would go silent and refuse to continue their discussion, and then would start another conversation with Sofia.

Things remained the same as they sat in the family room after dinner. Amber would only talk to Sofia and then Sofia would have to try to include James into their conversation, which would only make Amber end that conversation and create new one with Sofia. Then the cycle would start all over again.

Nothing changed much throughout their time in the family room, but James didn't really care because he liked having their presence around. It wasn't harmonious but it was collective and he liked hearing their voices as they have tea and sat around. Having their little chatter and banter fill the silence around the room was a welcome for James as he sat back with a contented smile.

And as he got ready for bed, all James could think about was how things remained simple and light as things made their way into the night. Like there was a hope for a new start, where he could reunite the family and things could actually get better from here.

But things didn't stay that way for him as he closed his eyes and a nightmare began.

James was sitting on the floor next to Sofia's legs with his back against the sofa. Looking around him, he saw almost his entire family relaxing in the family room. It was night out and he could hear the crackle of the wood in the fireplace. Amber was playing the harp with their Aunt Tilly, their melody giving off a happy and serene atmosphere. Sofia and their mother was sitting on the sofa above him, embroidering some small handkerchiefs. Sir Bartleby, their new uncle, sat across from him on the low coffee table concentrating on the cards in his hands, obviously trying to see a way to beat the fifteen-year-old across from him in a game of cards.

Everything looked so similar to him, like it was déjà vu. The happy environment, the smiles and laughs, it all rang a bell in him somewhere but James just doesn't remember what it was.

Then it hit him.

_No!_ James screamed, but no sound came out of his mouth.

He was reliving the night he killed his father.

For so long, he hasn't thought about that that night. Not once throughout the entire five years he was on the throne, James never revisited that night because he didn't want to think about how he wasn't in control of his own actions. Everything from that night was a blur, he remembered how his vision was a bit fogged, as if he was sleepwalking and had no control over his body. But he still remembered every action he made and every feeling he felt from that night.

He knew he wasn't himself but he couldn't help it, it was like someone else was controlling him and his mind. He recalled a voice telling him what to do and it fueled something in him to take action.

And just like that night, James felt a sudden anger and rage overcome him and took control of his body. That same voice in his head told him to get up and leave the room. He could hear himself mumble an excuse to the bathroom, but it wasn't James that said it. It was some creature inside of him that possessed his body and made him do everything.

To this day, he still doesn't understand where that emotion and voice came from and how it made him slaughter nearly half of his family in one night.

No matter how hard James tried to stop his legs and regain control, his body wouldn't budge and continued down the hallway towards his father's study. Along the way, James remembered that there was a metal armor and how he took the sword from its handle. He could vaguely hear the scrapping of the sword on the floor as he dragged it behind him. There was no one in the hallway, which only made it easier for him to barge into his father's study and watch as his eyes widen as James calmly walked towards him, the sword hidden behind his back.

James saw that his father's mouth moved as if asking him a question, but he didn't hear any sounds or words from him. It was like the voice in his head muffled his ears with the pounding rage he felt.

Soon, everything began to move too quickly.

James heard the voice hiss at him to rush towards his father, sword out in front of him and attack. Hard.

And no matter how hard his mind kept trying to stop his body, James was too weak to do anything and the voice in his head was stronger than him.

James cried out to stop, that he didn't want this, but the anger and fury in his body told him otherwise. It compelled him to feel that hurting his father was the only way to ease the pain he felt from his betrayal. That it was _his father's fault_ for his mother's death, she killed herself because his father had an affair. And he had the audacity to have James's and Amber's memories erased.

His father was scum. He was trash. He deserved to rot in hell.

_Stop! Please!_ James mentally screamed.

But the voice wouldn't have it and hissed back, y_ou know he has to pay…._

All James could do was watch as his body charged towards his father.

Luckily, his father managed to swiftly dodge his attack and grab at the sword on his desk. And in one swift movement, his father removed the sword's protective case and block James's strike.

Shoving James away, Roland's mouth moved again to say something but James was unable to hear it.

_Attack!_ The voice hissed. _Kill him!_

And again, his body moved in full force, swinging and slashing at him with the sword. Roland was able to deflect most of James's attacks but still gained cuts and wounds on his chest and face. Despite being controlled, James felt the sting of his father's sword cut his flesh as their fight continued on.

Then his father left one side unguarded and James's body managed to disarms him. The sword landed with a loud crash on the floor in the now silent room and the two men stood there staring at each other, both trying to catch their breath from their intense duel.

_Dad!_ James screamed again, _Dad! This isn't me! Something's controlling me!_

James tried everything in his power to get that message over to his father, from trying to regain his body to telling him through his eyes.

_Please dad! _

And then James saw some recognition flash in his father's eyes. It was there and hope filled James, his father always knew just what to do to fix any situation. He was the king.

But it was all short lived because the next thing he knew, his father was sprawled on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

The voice stabbed his father through the chest and his father yelled in agony as James's body continued to pierce him over and over again until he was dead.

_No!_ James screamed as he felt blood spatter over his face, watching as the light died in his father's eyes.

And the moment his father died, so did something in James.

Maybe it was his happiness, maybe it was his hope, or maybe it was his light. James didn't know, but what he did know for sure was that it wasn't the anger and fury in him. It continued to thrive that night.

Then he heard his uncle's voice, trying to tell him to drop his sword.

Looking over at him, James saw that near the door stood everyone else. Behind their mother's skirt, James recognized Sofia's brunette head bob up and saw how her eyes widen from what she saw. But it seemed that she didn't get much of a look by the way Aunt Tilly and their mother pulled Sofia and Amber away from the doorway.

With a clang, the sword dropped and he walked towards the door, into the hallway and away from the chaos that would soon ensue in that room.

Now behind the closed doors of his room, James fell to his knees and heaved, trying to get that sickening feeling out of his stomach. Tears and vomit spilled out of him as his mind spiraled out of control. While he could hear frantic footsteps and panic outside of his room, his own thoughts and mind was in its own fight with itself.

After losing track of how long he stayed on all fours, puking until he couldn't any longer, James heard pounding on his door and guards ordering for him to come out. When James couldn't bring himself to move a muscle, the doors were broken down and he turned to see spears and swords pointed at him.

_We're not done yet, James._ The voice returned and hissed again, _go and take the crown. It's yours now. Take all the gold and jewels. Take Amber's tiaras and Sofia's amulet. Take everything! _

Too mentally and physically weak to fight the voice, James gave up and let it control his body. He let the dark consume him that night and was compelled to slaughter everyone that approached him. And in one massive, bloody blur, James saw all of the guards fall to his feet. Even when his uncle and aunt tried to fight him that night, James recalled how easily they died at the point of his sword.

The voice in his head made him into a crimson killer, skilled at taking down everyone in his path. He remembered nothing but red everywhere, but this nightmare made it all vivid and realistic.

_Take the crown!_ It cried. _Take the throne!_

Moving down the hallway towards the throne room, a brown head caught his attention. Turning his head towards the corner, James saw Sofia alone and scared.

_Take the amulet!_

Kneeling down to eyelevel with her, he saw fear and horror all over her face. She didn't move a muscle and looked like she could barely breathe. James felt a guilty pang in his chest, knowing that his little sister is scared because of him, and couldn't bring himself to take their father's gift from her. Not when she was like this, not in this kind of situation. Not ever.

_I'm sorry, Sof_. James tried to tell her in his eyes, but he knew it didn't reach her because of how far in the darkness he was.

_Take it! Take it now!_

But amazingly, this was the only time James didn't listen to the voice. He felt no compulsion to do as it said.

Gently, he reached out and touched her cheek with his bloodstained fingers. Seeing how he left a red streak on her face, he got up and left, never looking back. Behind him, he heard the chaos fill the hallway again.

Then everything around him fell away and turned dark the further away from the hallway he got.

_Why didn't you take her amulet?!_ The voice yelled at him. _You should have taken it!_

_No!_ James cried back, finding the strength in him to fight back. _You already had me take everything, why do you want the amulet too?!_

_Because it belongs to us! To me! _

_No! It belongs to Sofia! _

_No it does not! It's power belongs to me! _

_You already have enough power! I've taken all of the kingdoms' power already! I control everything! You don't need Sofia's amulet! _

_Yes I do! It will give me enough to control the entire world! To control EVERYTHING! _

_No you don't! And I control things around here! _Remembering that this was all just a dream, James tried to resist the voice's control on him. _And this is just a dream! _My _dream! _I _control how it will end! _

_Oh you think so?! Fine! _The voice snarled at him, y_ou're correct that you are in control. _You_ were in control the entire time. So look behind you at what _you_ did. _

Slowly, James turned around and saw a bloody body on the floor motionless. It was too small and petite to be his father's or any adult's body. Walking closer to it, he saw that it was a girl's body. Her body was dainty and looked frail, and all around her, there was blood that was still spilling out.

Then James saw the familiar sun kissed brunette hair and it was like someone hit him in the gut with a boulder.

_SOFIA!_ James screamed and ran towards her as the voice began to laugh menacingly.

_You did this, boy! You killed Sofia! _

Falling onto his knees as he made his way to her, he held her in his arms and saw that it wasn't the small and young Sofia from that night. She appeared as the older and beautiful Sofia he saw earlier that night, the same Sofia that held a feisty and warrior strength in her eyes when she first arrived back at the castle. The one he wanted so badly to kiss and wrap his arms around, to feel her warmth and just gaze at the light in her eyes.

_No,_ James whispered. _Sof, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

_You wanted control, boy. And when you're in control, you're burdened with seeing just what you did._ The voice laughed coldly at him and then it went silent, leaving James alone in the dark again.

_Sof,_ James said through the tears as he wiped away a stray hair from her closed eyes. _Sof…._

When the agony was too much for him, James just screamed at the top of his lungs until no breath was left in him.

_I want this dream to end!_ He screamed along, using every fiber in his body to force this nightmare to an end. _It needs to end! Now!_

Then, James's eyes were opened and, from the glow of the moonlight, James saw his familiar ceiling. Sweat was glued to his forehead and, as he sat up, he saw how much of it drenched his nightshirt.

A voice in the dark suddenly said, "James?"

Whipping his head around quickly, he saw Sofia sitting beside him on his massive bed. She was in a thin but modest sleeveless nightgown, and her hair was let down and flowed over her shoulder.

"Sofia?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I –" she started, but was cut off when James pulled her into a tight hug.

Images from his nightmare still haunted his mind. The bloody and brutal lifeless figure of Sofia in his arms kept on flashing before his eyes. Pictures of how her hands were cold to the touch, her cheeks were hollow and empty, and her lips were blue and bare. Everything about her was dead and it made his heart ache at the thought that _he_ was responsible for it.

Remember how cold her body felt in his arms, Sofia's body heat was a welcome as he held her even tighter against his body.

"You're alive," he said as he dug his face closer into her hair, trying to etch her lavender and vanilla scent into his mind, hoping that her scent might erase every horrible picture his nightmare gave him.

"Of course I am," she muffled, her face buried in his chest and he felt her hot breath as she said each word. "You saw me before we all went into our rooms."

"I thought you were dead," he said breathlessly, the voice's words repeating over and over in his head. "I was so sure you were dead…."

Since that night five years ago, James never heard from that voice ever again. This was the first time in years since he revisited that night and heard the voice again. James enjoying the silence in his head and loving the feeling of the control he has over his body.

"Okay, okay." Sofia soothed, taking her arms around him and rubbing his back. "It was just a nightmare, James."

He just melted against her touch and held her tighter to him, wanting to feel her even more and released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

"James, I'm fine."

But James didn't hear her as he crushed her closer to him, repeating, "you're alive, you're alive."

"James, look at me," she said firmly and pulled a little out of his arms to look at him in the eyes. "I'm fine. I'm alive and I'm fine."

Seeing her clearly now, he rested his forehead on hers and just welcomed how cool it felt against the sweat on his forehead. He didn't remove his hands from her waist.

"I'm fine," she whispered between them as she rested her hands on his chest.

As he calmed down and his fear and anxiety receded, James saw that they were only inches apart and if he were to just purse his lips up just a bit, their lips would touch.

But he knew this wasn't the time or place to do it, not now when he just came back from a horrible nightmare where he revisited the unspeakable night. So he pulled away and rested his head on his bed's cool backboard, and not ready to let her go just yet, he pulled Sofia with him so that she could sit close to him like they did when they were kids.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" Sofia tentatively asked looking at him with her unblinking blue eyes. "Do you want me to go and get anybody?" Worry filled her eyes as she searched his eyes again for anything that might give her reason to get the palace doctor and nurse.

"No, no," he said, his hands tightening on her waist, as if that might stop her from leaving. "It's alright."

"James…" Sofia said again, he could hear the doubt in her voice.

"What are you doing in here anyway?" James said, wanting to change the subject.

"I was getting a drink of water from the kitchen when I passed by your room," she pointed to the glass of water on his nightstand. "I heard you cry out in your sleep and sort of ran in here."

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked, looking over at the clock next to his lamp, its arms pointing to a quarter past one in the morning.

"James –," Sofia began again.

"Sof, I don't want to talk about it just yet." James looked at her in the eyes, hoping that she would respect that he wasn't ready to tell her about his version of what happened that night and how his nightmare ended in her death. "I'll tell you when I'm ready, okay? Just not tonight."

Looking at him with the same, searching expression again, she responded politely, "okay."

"But don't leave just yet," he said quickly, afraid that she'll leave. "Just sit back and keep me company. Please." He didn't care if she could hear the need and desperation in his voice. As long as she stayed here with him, he would break his entire pride if it ensured her sitting here with him all night.

And it lifted his heart when he saw her simply sit back and rest her head on his shoulder, all without saying a word.

The two of them sat there at the head of his bed quietly, taking in the quiet, moonlit room and letting the serene and calm night roam between them. James felt the light yet heavy weight of Sofia's head on his shoulder and how her soft hair brushed his fingertips.

Then James heard Sofia sigh and quietly say, "How long has it been since we sat like this?"

Letting out a little laugh, James responded, "the last time I remember sitting here with you was when I was fourteen and got the flu. I was bedridden for almost three weeks."

"Oh yeah," Sofia giggled softly. "I remember. I kept hearing you whine about how no one would visit you in there because they didn't want to get themselves sick."

"Because almost everyone in the castle had some important business the next few weeks. They all avoided me like I was some horrid ogre."

Sofia let out a light, airy laugh. "Yeah. Dad and Mom had dignitary meetings, Amber had some important party to attend, Baileywick had a cousin's wedding coming up, and the staff had their own celebrations too."

"You were the only one without some business to go to and sat here with me every day for an entire week," James said, slowly placing his arm around her, careful not to disturb her head from his shoulder.

"Well, wasn't it flying derby championships that week too? I felt bad that you had to miss it."

"I still don't get why though. Didn't we win like three of the Flying Crowns together? You won five, remember?"

"Yeah," she said with another one of her cute laughs, "we were on a winning streak too, huh? We were a great team."

"_You_ were on a winning streak." James stressed, remembering how she got Prince Hugo to turn around and teach him sportsmanship. "You even got Prince Hugo to respect you on the team, remember?"

And throughout the night, the two of them reminisced about their childhood and talked on and on until the break of dawn. From their good times at the castle to their years at Royal Prep, they laughed so hard at old jokes and pranks to the point of tears. James enjoyed remembering all of their fun adventures from when they were kids, from when everyone threw Baileywick a birthday party since he couldn't have a day off because everyone kept bothering him when he was about to leave to their crazy adventure to find the Hocus Crocus for their science project because Amber used it all up.

They talked and talked until James heard Sofia's soft even breathing when she didn't reply for a while. Looking over, he saw that she fell asleep.

Smiling to himself, James just sat still and stared at her. James tried to ingrain every detail of her beautiful face into his mind, right next to his memory of her lavender and vanilla scent. From her long dark lashes to how her lips still looked pink in the dark morning light and how her cheek looked chubby as she leaned against his shoulder.

Very gently and as smoothly as he could, James lowered Sofia down onto the bed so that she was lying down and her head was on one of his pillows. Lying down beside her, James continued to memorize everything about her and tenderly stroked her cheek.

"It's funny how much you calm me down, Sof," James said extremely quietly, so that she wouldn't hear him. "You don't know how much I need you, how much you affect me and make me better. Everything about you is unprecedented. You have this miraculous ability to fix and solve everything around you with just one look."

Never breaking his gaze with her, he gently lifted his head to place a faint kiss on her forehead and before he broke away, he soundlessly whispered, "goodnight, Sofia."

* * *

Chapter five! Yay!

Again, I want to thank everyone who read and kept up with this series. I don't think I would have been able to continue with this if it weren't for everyone's great reviews and love.

Sorry this took a little longer to post, I had an overnight freshman orientation for my university and they wouldn't let me bring in my laptop to work on this chapter. So I was two days behind. I'm sorry. So to make up for the long delay, I made this chapter extra long and filled with good stuff.

Since I posted Sofia's POV chapter, I've been getting a lot of messages asking for James's own POV chapter, explaining his version of that night. And... well... Here it is! I also put in a lot more JamesXSofia moments because I love you all and your great feedback about them.

Read and comment please! Tell me what you guys all thought about James's version of that night and his moments with Sofia. Tell me what and who you all want to see later.

Thanks :)

PS. The book titles Sofia mentions in this chapter are all fake and I also changed the cover picture to something that I felt fit the story better.


	6. Chapter 6

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 6: His Feelings, Her Plan and The Ball **

_**James **_

James groggily woke up with his left arm draped over his eyes, mildly aware of a heavy weight on his upper arms and a warm body wrapped close to his. He could hear a girl's soft sleepy breathing and felt her slightly shift closer to him, pressing her cushioned chest against his side.

_What?_ James thought to himself.

This wasn't the first time James woke up like this, with a mystery girl in bed with him. After Sofia and everyone were exiled from the castle, James had done his own type of conquests besides capturing the other kingdoms to create his empire and gratify that emptiness within him. During his later teenage years, James was rather promiscuous and had been with many women from and outside of Enchancia. Every time he managed to have a kingdom relinquish their ownership to him, he would celebrate with drinks and women, drunkenly bringing them to his bed and continuing that celebration into the night; it was always a different girl every night.

Yet none of his relationships did last for every long because not one of the young ladies could give him what he subconsciously wanted after their time in bed together. Even if they were willing to give him everything they had for him and tell him that they loved him, they were never enough to fill whatever need or desire he had inside of him. It wasn't until a little later in his young years did James understand what that need was. Companionship, love, someone to share himself with and have them understand every bit of him as he wants to understand them, but not one of the many girls he brought into his bed did. And because of that unsatisfied need, James hasn't been with a woman in nearly a year.

James peeked through the gap between his arm and head, and saw the dark early morning sky. Removing his arm from away from his eyes, James turned to his left and saw the top of a brunette head.

And as his morning vision cleared, he saw Sofia's sleeping face snuggle closer to him.

_Sofia?_ James mentally exclaimed. _What the hell?_

One of Sofia's arms was beneath her cheek as the other lay sprawled across his chest and her left leg tangled itself around his lower thigh. His body immediately stiffened as his mind and eyes registered how close and intimately Sofia's body was entangled around his.

_Oh, crap! What the hell happened last night? Shit, did I sleep with her?! _

As James looked around himself, he saw that his and her clothes were still on and memories of last night returned to him. He remembered how Sofia woke him up from his nightmare and sat with him all night, talking and laughing about their times as kids. James's head fell back in relief, and yet, he found himself a little disappointed too.

_Wait, what? Why am I disappointed? Sofia is my sister, so why would I be disappointed that we didn't do it?_ James thought as he looked back at Sofia's precious sleeping face, taking in her long lashes and plump looking lips. _I mean, she's incredibly attractive and beautiful. Hell, she's sexy. So I don't think sex with her would be half ba – Gah! Dammit, James! She. Is. Your. Sister! _

Shaking his head, James tried to tare his gaze away from Sofia and stare out of his window, but feeling Sofia shift in his arm and scoot even closer than she already was, James couldn't help himself and returned to staring at Sofia.

James slowly pulled his arms around Sofia's shoulder and caressed his thumb over her bare skin, enjoying how its softness sent small shoots of electricity through his fingertips. He liked how warm her body felt, yet just cool enough to somehow soothe him in an odd way. Her body fitted so well – no perfectly – next to his body, like they were made in a pair and meant to be like this.

James's mind brought him back to the times when they all used to share a bed together as kids. Whenever there was a big storm outside, it was always Sofia who would run into his room and hide under his covers because he was always so protective of her. Amber would come in a few minutes later because she always hated being left out of anything. Their parents would always find them sleeping together on stormy nights, Sofia in the middle and holding onto James while Amber took up the entire right side of the bed.

But things are different now. Massively different.

Then, they were just kids and, whenever Sofia held onto him, she never had two ripe and developed cushions pressing into him, and telling him that she slept without a corset or any covering underneath.

Listening to her smooth breathing, James mind calmed down and went about enjoying how nice it felt to simply lay there with her, embracing her body heat in the dark morning light and relaxing in the silence of the pala –

_Shit! What if Baileywick or one of the staff comes in and sees her like this?_ _This won't go over well with anyone. I mean, it's Sofia in my bed for crying out loud! _James cried, dread filling his stomach. Looking over at his nightstand's clock to his right, he saw the arms pointing to only a few minutes half past four o'clock and small bits of relief filled him. _Okay, it's just past four-thirty. The staff won't be up until five, so it only gives me about half an hour to wake her up and – _

James stopped short, captivated by how close she was curled up next to him.

_But I don't want to…_ James whined. _I like this, just cuddling with her and – Dammit! James, you need to wake her up. You don't want everyone thinking you two did something together last night, right? _ …_But I hardly think anyone will think that. It is Sofia, the most innocent girl in all of Enchancia, And according to my track record, they'll all think I did something to her…. _James mentally battled himself. _Buuuttt… maybe just a few more min – James! Wake her up! Now! _

Pulling himself onto his side, James gently patted Sofia's cheek to wake her up. "Sofia. Wake up."

"Mmm," he heard her mumble as her eyes began to flutter.

"Come on, Sofia," James said, patting her a little harder. "Wake up."

Watching as she stirred and her eyes slowly open, he smiled when he saw how blue her eyes were in the morning. It was incredible how lovely they appeared to be in the low morning light.

As her eyes were on his, his smile grew a little wider and quietly said, "hey."

Then her eyes became wide and she scrambled out of his arms, pulling the blanket with her to the far side of the bed. "James? Wha-what are you doing here?"

Laughing just a bit, James sat up and responded, "Well, this is my room."

"Your room?"

James nodded, "We both ended up falling asleep after talking nearly all night long."

"What?"

"Yeah," James said, not wanting to tell her that he could have simply carried her back to her room or woken her up when she did fall asleep on his shoulder, but that would have taken away his chance of having her sleeping in his arms. James wanted to wake up to her and have her beside him in the morning, even if he didn't remember it at first and kind of freaked out at the sight of her when he opened his eyes.

He heard her groan and run her hands through her hair. "Oh, yeah…. That's right," she sleepily sighed. "Sorry about freaking out on you like that."

"It's alright," he said as he drank in this sleepy, morning version of Sofia. Her eyelids were still clearly a bit heavy for her as she yawned and stretched. Her messy bed hair fell over her thin shoulders, some even fell into space between her breasts.

_Gah! Keep it together James! Stop gawking at her! Remember, she needs to get back to her room before anyone sees her! _

Clearing his throat, James said, "Sofia, I think it's best if you return to your room. It'd be bad if someone saw you here in my room this early in the morning. You just got back to the castle and I'm still the big, bad king, remember?"

"…Yeah," she said drowsily rubbing her eyes. "What time is it? Will any of the staff catch me outside?"

"It's just past four-thirty and the staff won't be up until five, so you're good for about thirty minutes."

"Alright then," she said, hopping off of the bed, "I'm just going to go before anyone sees me and thinks otherwise."

"'Kay," James said, watching her as she made her way towards the door.

And once the door was securely shut, he plopped back onto his pillow and just smiled to himself. Lying there, he couldn't help but feel like his room was now emptier without her there and his bed seemed less warm and inviting. James could still feel her in his arms, even though she just left him. It was as if his room and James was robbed of the one thing that made it whole.

Scanning his room, James saw that nothing had changed in his room. Everything was the same as it were just two days ago, yet he could feel within himself that now it felt empty without her in it. Even though he knew she had to leave, James found himself wanting to turn back the clock and have her back in his arms for just another few minutes.

_I want her back here…_ James thought to himself as he sat back up, astonished by his revelation. _I want her back here because… I want to wake up with her in my arms and have her only see me in the morning. I want to hear her voice and see her eyes first thing in the morning. I want to be the first thing she sees in the morning and the last thing she sees at night. Arraaggh! For the love of – she's my sister, but why do I find myself wanting to touch and kiss her. I just don't get it! Why do I feel this way? _

Knowing that there is no point in just remaining in bed awake and frustrated, James got up to get ready as his mind continued to reel about Sofia and his bewildered feelings.

_I mean, why was I even disappointed by the fact that nothing happened between us last night? I shouldn't be seeing her like that or even having these kinds of thoughts! Could it be because of the five years we had apart? But then, by that correlation, I should be feeling something for Amber. But I don't. Hell, we can't even be in the same room as each other. So, why do I get these weird feelings for only Sofia? She's my sister, but I have thoughts about her that a brother shouldn't have. What kind of brother am I?! Seriously, I like the way her skin feels against mine and how soft she is. I want to just keep her in my arms and kiss her until she's breathless. I know I don't want to take her to my bed but I do want to just have her there so she can fall asleep in my arms. What kind of brother has those kinds of thoughts?! _

And as he finished dressing himself, last night's nightmare comes back to him.

_And that nightmare…. I know what I felt was some kind of grief and shock at finding her dead in my arms, but it was a different kind and I just don't know how to describe it. It's the kind that I know isn't just my love for her as an older brother, but I just don't know what it is._

_**Sofia**_

Once she was back in her room and relieved that no one saw her leave James's room, Sofia fell back onto her old childhood bed and relived the events from late last night.

After dinner, Sofia was back in her room, satisfied at that last night ended without any screaming or yelling and no one was imprisoned or killed. James was calm and civil with Amber, despite how Amber refused to talk to him at all and Sofia had to force them into a conversation.

Around midnight or so, Sofia was returning back after fetching herself a glass of water from the kitchen when she walked past James's room and heard his screams.

"Aaahh!"

And without even thinking, she rushed into his room, "James?"

She didn't understand it but all she knew was that it somehow caused her this indescribable pain to hear his screams like that, she felt this horrible fear in the pit of her stomach to even think that he might be hurt in some way.

Her legs just took control and rushed her into his room to see if he was okay.

Inside, she was that James was thrashing around in the center of his bed, in the middle of some horrific nightmare. His blankets and pillows were thrown everywhere and sweat covered his entire face and made his clothes cling to his body.

Climbing onto his massive bed, she sat beside him and tried to shake him awake. "James, James. You're having a nightmare."

But it was like the nightmare held onto him tightly and refused to release him from its clutches.

"No…. Sof, I'm so sorry…. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…."

Sofia was taken aback by hearing her name coming from his mouth. Even though Baileywick did tell her that he has been saying her name at night, it still stunned her to the point where she froze in her spot on his bed.

It just didn't make sense to her, why her name? What significance did she have to him?

And yet, it made her feel special. That somehow hearing her name being uttered from him with her own ears clarified and solidified what James called her, _his_ light.

For a while, she tried to wake him but James just continued to cry out in his nightmare and her name was said again and again. She shook him and even slapped him hard, trying to break whatever spell his nightmare had on him.

Then, with a firm and final smack to his face, James eyes opened and he immediately sat up. Sofia could hear his quick, ragged breathing as he hung his head in his hands. She was right there next to him, but it was like he did see or notice her at all; he was still caught in that nightmare world.

It wasn't until she said his name aloud did she see the real fear etched all over his face, sweat and terror clung to him as he whipped his head to face her. Looking at her, it seemed like he couldn't believe that it was her and that she was in his room.

And, suddenly, she was in his arms.

She could feel the sweat on him and how much he was trembling. In her ear, Sofia heard James just repeating how he was so sure that she was dead and, for some reason, she has this inkling that he somehow blames himself for it. His tone and how he held onto her made her think that maybe she was dead in his nightmare and he thinks it was his fault.

James just refused to let her go and held onto her throughout the entire night. It was like he needed to feel her there or he would spiral back into the depths of his nightmare again, like she was his life raft.

Sofia was speechless in seeing this side of James; it was nothing like how he was when they had their conversation earlier in the morning. That James somehow had an edge of control on himself, but this James now, it seemed as if he was hanging on by just a thread and she was holding the scissors.

His face was pale white and everywhere on him, he had sweat clinging to him. And the whole time she was in his arms, she just continued to whisper encouraging and loving words to calm him down which only made him tighten his arms around her even more.

And despite herself, Sofia liked it. Being so close to him in his arms, she felt how warm he was. Even now, Sofia could still feel James's warmth and musky scent. It baffled her at how much she enjoyed the feeling of James's arms around her. As if somewhere inside of her, it was being pulled by the safety it felt from James's strong arms, a different type of safety than the one she feels when she's with Amber or her mom.

_I liked it…_ Sofia thought._ I don't get it, but I liked being in his arms. _

And waking up in his arms….

Sofia remembered how wonderful it felt to see him and being in his arms as she woke up. It surprised her at how pleasant it felt being in his warm embrace, and she found herself just drawn to it and not wanting to leave or even wake up. She didn't even realized how warm and kind they were when she opened her eyes and found them on her.

Sofia could hear his heart when he held her so close to his chest and the fast beating still rang in her ears as she laid there on her bed in the early morning.

Sofia enjoyed how much they have talked over the past day. From the long hours they talked and laughed in the library to reminiscing until dawn in his room, it was all pure bliss to her and it was clear to Sofia that it was the same for James.

She saw how not once did he go ballistic or suddenly become overcome with fury and anger. It surprised her at how well and contented he appeared throughout the day after their conversation. He laughed, smiled, and talked like the old James she once knew….

And then it hit her.

_Oh my gosh!_ Sofia immediately sat up and smiled wide to herself. _The past was what kept him calm and sane!_

Without hesitation, Sofia ran to Amber's room to tell her new plan to save James.

And barging through her sister's doors, Sofia saw Amber promptly sit up at the loud sound of her doors banging open and Sofia's sudden jumping on her bed.

"Amber! Amber!" Sofia whispered as quietly as she could, though she was still loud enough to cause Amber to wake with a start.

"What?" she asked crankily, rubbing her eyes. "What, Sofia?"

"I figured it out! I figured it out!" Sofia rushed, overcome with too much excitement. "Aaah! I figured it out! I think I know a way to save James! I-I-I don't know if it's a solid method to saving him, but I think I can do it. I mean, it's just like walking down memory lane and that's what can trigger –"

"Woah, Woah, Sofia," Amber said, looking at her now. "Slow down. Take a deep breath and tell me everything _slowly_."

"Oh, right." Sofia said, exhaling and inhaling a breath with a sheepish smile. "So, I think I found a way to save James or, at least, a way to keep him calm enough to find another way to save him."

"Really?" Amber excitedly said, sitting straighter and clearly awake now. "Wait, how did this even come about?"

"Well," Sofia said, "I was… um…." She didn't understand why she was a bit embarrassed to talk about how she was thinking about James and how she felt about being in his arms earlier in her room.

_I don't want to tell her that I was in his room all night and that we ended up sleeping in the same bed together,_ Sofia thought. _But, we used to do that as kids. So… why don't I want to tell her? I know I don't want to tell her how I liked being in his arms, but why can't I tell her that I spent the night there? I don't get it. Is it because I'm embarrassed to say that I liked waking up to him? _

"What?" Amber said impatiently.

"I was thinking over my and James's conversations over the past day, and I realized that James was calm and like his old self whenever we were talking about all of our good times together as kids," Sofia said, thinking quick on the spot. "So I figured that if we kept reminiscing about our old times together, then maybe that can somehow save him or something."

"So, good memories keeps him sane? How are you going to go about it?"

"I haven't thought it all the way through yet, but what do you think about my theory though?" Sofia asked nervously.

"I think it's a good one. Hell, I think that might really work," Amber said supportively, "but I need to know about how it's going to be done though."

"I know," Sofia said, running her hands though her long brunette hair. "I was just thinking that we spend more time with him and, you know, talk about the good 'ol days."

"Ah, one problem with that," Amber said with an arched eye brow. "I can't stand him anymore. Not after everything he's done."

"I know," Sofia said softly, "I realized that at dinner the other night. I can see that you two can't be in the same room or else both of you will explode."

"I'm sorry, Sofia. I really want to support you in every way possible, but when it comes to James and I, things just don't work out as they used to."

"Don't worry, Amber. I get it," Sofia said, smiling and taking her older sister's hands into her own. "That's why I think maybe it's best if I do most of the reminiscing with James and you just support me like you already do. You know, help brainstorm with me. And when you are ready, just come on over. Okay?"

"Thanks, Sofia." Amber smiled. "Have you thought of any conditions to give to James?

"Not much, just a couple. You?"

Amber smiled slyly, "only one."

Knowing her smile, Sofia looked at her older sister with suspicion. "Amber…"

"A ball!"

"A ball?"

"Yes! You know, as a 'Welcome Back', 'Here we are!' ball. It's a perfect way to reintroduce us back into society and maybe you and I can find princely suitors!"

"Suitors? What for?"

_Suitors was always your thing_, Sofia thought. For so long, Sofia was fine with just letting her sister glow in the limelight and adoration of all of the men. She was happy with just being in the background because Sofia was never comfortable with all of the flirtation from the guys. And because of her shy and quiet personality, she just let Amber have all of the male affection back at the estate.

And, when they were younger, not many guys were able to get through James's overprotection. They always ran away from her whenever James was nearby, not many of them were able to withstand his glare. So because she spent most of her time with only friends, Sofia didn't have time to get used to the flirtation and admiration of the male population.

"Sofia, you have to think about it. We might be spending a long time here. And if or when we're done with this whole mission of ours, we might have to leave the castle and return back home. So I was hoping that before we do, we can somehow scan our prospects here and find love."

"Love?"

"Yeah," Amber said seriously, squeezing Sofia's hands. "Sofia, I don't know how long we're going to be here and I don't want to waste it just waiting here until we're done to find love. I don't want to put everything on hold just so James can be saved. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't see anything bad about what we're doing. It's just, I want to find love while we're still young, you know?"

_I can see your point_, Sofia thought. _But, I'm so bad at that kind of thing and you know it. _

"I don't know, Amber…." Sofia said nervously.

"Okay, okay. I get it. It's your shyness and bad flirting skills, isn't it?" Amber said with a joking smile.

"Hey!"

Laughing, Amber placed an arm around Sofia. "How about I do this? I invite all of our old friends from Royal Prep to the 'Welcome Back' ball and make it like a mini reunion? Is that better? I mean, you're flirting skills can't be that bad with old friends can it?"

Looking at her sister, Sofia knew that Amber wouldn't give this up until she got her "Welcome Back" ball and snagged them both potential suitors. She remembered how most of the boys back at the estate were either too old or young for Amber's taste, and so she just rejected all of their marriage proposals.

And with a sigh, Sofia said, "I guess that's better than strangers flirting with me."

"Good," Amber said warmly, "and don't worry, I'll train you in the art of flirting." Her eyes wandered over to her nightstand's clock. "Oh! It's so early in the morning, do you think the seamstress will be up right about now?"

Watching as Amber got out of bed and ran over to her closet, clearly trying to lighten the mood and change the subject, Sofia just followed and asked, "I think so, James told me that all of the staff are up around five o'clock and it's only ten minutes past five."

"Oh, good. We need new dresses for the ball and to wear around the castle because all of these are too small for us," Amber said as she tossed out nearly all of her unused junior dresses. "Ugh! What kind of fashion sense did I have back then?"

Laughing to herself, Sofia borrowed one of Amber's robes to wrap around herself before anyone arrived inside and saw a glimpse of Sofia in her revealing nightgown. After Amber emptied out her closet and finding herself a robe, she took Sofia's hand and ran to the seamstress's office without any hesitation.

_**James**_

James was only wondering the hallway aimlessly as he tried to waste time until breakfast, trying to clear his head from the confusion and frustration that ensued on him earlier this morning. He tried every possible explanation in order to understand why he feels this way towards his younger sister, but nothing was valid enough for him to grasp which only caused him to feel even more frustrated and annoyed.

While his mind was still confused over his feelings for Sofia, James almost didn't hear the giggles and laughter that came from the room he just past in the downstairs hallway.

Walking backwards, he peeked into the room he just passed and noticed that it was filled with fabric of all kinds. A rainbow of ribbon and lace neatly decorated one side of the room while another had what appeared to be a hundred measuring tapes hanging all over the wall and headless mannequins of all shapes and sizes were lined orderly beside the several dressing rooms in the back of the room.

_Oh, the seamstress's room,_ James thought as he stayed near the shadowy doorway and continued to survey the room. _Ah, that's right. I had her moved to another room on this floor. I can't remember why though. Well, at least this room is bigger than her previous one. _

Loud giggling snapped him out of his thoughts, and turning towards the source, he saw Amber emerge from one of the dressing room in a bright orange unfinished gown. She had on only one sleeve and some of her ruffles hung loose from the gown.

"Pastel green really is more of my color, huh?" Amber said over her shoulder as she stepped onto the center of dais in front of the three way mirror and started to twirl, causing the ribbons to loosen even more from her dress.

"That is what I said princess," said Madame Collette in her heavy French accent.

"Oh, I should have never doubted you Madame Collette," Amber said, turning around to face the elderly designer.

"You would have anyway, Amber," James heard Sofia's voice coming through one of the dressing room.

And James was stunned silent by what he saw.

She emerged in what appeared to be a finished modest silvery pink gown. His heart beat faster as she walked up next to Amber on the dais and let the lights above the mirrors glow all over her, making her dress shimmer. Even though this dress showed less skin than the one from yesterday, it made her look like living perfection. James liked the two colors on her well, the light pink and the dark silver gave her this soft innocence but with an air of mystery.

"Psh! No I wouldn't." Amber responded lightly before turning around towards Madame Collette, "Oh, Madame Collette, you don't know how happy I am to see that you're still here. My life was utter misery without you and you're dresses back at the country estate."

"There, there, princess." Madame Collette said sweetly, patting Amber's back. "I do not think it could be that bad."

"I had to make my own dresses!" James's twin exclaimed, her eyes watery with exaggerated tears.

Jams couldn't help but roll his eyes at his sister. _Apparently, she's still as dramatic as ever._

His eyes wandered back to Sofia, who was looking at herself in the mirror, and a small smile broke onto his lips. Sofia looked in the mirror as if she didn't see the beauty in herself. It was like she was still blind to her own beauty and how much she enchants everyone around her. For as long as he's known her, Sofia only looked at her clothes for the practicality of it. Never for how well it looked on her or how wonderful it made her look. _And apparently, she still doesn't know how beautiful she is just yet. Modest as ever, aren't you. _

And then, without even thinking, his lips moved on their own.

"You should wear that dress," he said aloud.

Cursing himself, James knew it was too late to remain in the shadows of the doorway and he stepped out and shyly smiled at Sofia. All three heads moved and turned towards him, everyone stopping in their tracks and froze at the sight of him.

After a moment, Amber wiped her eyes and glared at him with her cold eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Amber…" he heard Sofia whisper harshly.

"I was walking by when I saw you two," James said, trying his best to control is irritation with Amber and not wanting to start a fight with Amber in front of Sofia. "Why are you guys in here anyway?"

"Well, we didn't plan on staying here so we didn't bring any extra dresses and our old ones are too small for us now," Amber replied coldly.

"Oh," was all James could say.

"And we need one for the ball I want to plan for," she said.

"The ball?" both Sofia and James said at the same time.

"Yes," Amber said with her head held high and her shoulder's straight. "I want to reintroduce Sofia and I back into Enchancia's courts, and the only way to do that is to hold a ball for us."

"Really?" James asked.

"Yes, really. That is one of my conditions and Sofia agreed to it."

"Really?" James asked again and looking at Sofia, he only saw her shrug with an apologetic but amused smile. Returning back to Amber, he said, "well, okay then. I guess you'll be planning a ball then Amber."

"Good," she said as she turned on her heel and returned to her dressing room. "I'll send you the details to approve later."

Probably noticing his raised eyebrows as he turned back to her, Sofia simply laughed as she got down from the dais and walked towards him. "Don't ask. It's a long story."

Enjoying the sound of her laugh, James just smiled back at the beauty before him. "I can guess so."

"Princess Sofia, what would you like me to do with your nightgown and belongings?" called Madame Collette.

"Oh, excuse me a moment James," she said before leaving his side.

James just watched her as she walked away, enjoying how pretty she looked. Sofia had her hair tastefully braided into a loose fishtail and she had practically no make-up on, looking natural and fresh. And even though that dress was modest and simple, with no extra lace or frills, it made her look so sexy in his eyes. His eyes just followed her as she moved around the room, walking from one dressing room to another, liking how voluptuous she looked.

_Gah! Dammit James! Get it together! Don't think like that! _

"Sorry about that," Sofia said as she arrived back. "Would you like to go and get breakfast with me? Amber said it's okay for us to eat first."

Mentally shaking himself, James stuttered, "ah… um… alright."

Sofia just smiled at him and looped her arm with his as they made their way to the dining room. She was so close to him that he could feel her body heat again, just like when he woke up to her snuggled up next to him. It would have made him happy and giddy if it weren't for the fact that he mentally chided himself for thinking that she looked sexy in her dress. The entire way, James tried to keep a check on himself but gave up and simply enjoyed their time together alone.

_I'll figure it out later. For now, I'm just going to enjoy this morning together with her. _

* * *

Chapter six! Woo!

As always, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews my chapters. I am so grateful and floored by all of the love and positivity I'm getting, it always makes my day whenever I read someone's review about how much they like the recent chapters I just posted.

Just recently, I have been getting a lot of messages and reviews about how much they all loved James's and Sofia's POV chapters about night Roland died and asking for more POV chapters. Well... in response to that, all I am going to say is that you guys may just get your wish! BUT that won't be for a couple more chapters. And regarding the other characters, like Ruby, Jade, Desmond, etc. you all will be seeing them soon!

Please read and review :D

Thanks :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 7: Sofia's and Amber's Frustration**

_**Sofia**_

"So, what else do we need to get done?" Sofia asked Amber as the two sat alone together in Amber's quaint and calm room. Sofia looked over to her older sister with tired eyes, watching as Amber's eyes quickly skimmed her long and extensive to-do list and a white quill pen in one hand.

It has been over three weeks since the two sisters returned back to Enchancia on a mission to save their older brother. And from her time back at the castle, Sofia has noticed that James hasn't had any major anger explosions or anything of the sort except for the occasional snips with Amber or a fumbling servant. In her opinion, she would even say that she hasn't even seen anything regarding his notorious short temper; he hasn't barked or ripped off anyone's head in the last three weeks. It also seems to her that it looks like he walks with a skip in his step whenever they spend time together throughout the day.

Sofia couldn't help but feel that whenever they were alone just talking or in their comfortable silence, the atmosphere between them changes into something she couldn't describe. It was as if there was this special ambience that existed only between them and Sofia hated to admit it, but she liked that it was only with her and James. It made her feel special to him, and she liked that. She liked feeling needed and wanted by him.

Sure, Sofia has been told she was needed and wanted by a lot of other people throughout her life, but to see it in James's eyes and to hear it in his deep and husky voice was different. There was this sound of desire and passion she never hears in anyone else and, to her surprise, it thrilled her to hear it. She didn't understand why but it made her feel something else entirely.

And it didn't help that since they spend every day together, she sees a vulnerable side of James that no one, not even Amber, sees; the same vulnerability that she saw when she was with him on her first night back at the castle. He becomes the old James she once knew, playful and competitive.

At the same time, Sofia couldn't help but take notice at James mature body. After spending so much time together, she began to see the smaller details of his appearance and was embarrassed to admit that he was handsome. His close cropped hair gave him a strong, military look, but also a rugged handsomeness that she liked. And she always liked to see how bright his green eyes would shine whenever he laughs loud and full.

On some occasions, Sofia would catch herself staring longingly at his lips, stunned to discover that she was drawn to it for a reason she didn't understand. She wasn't scared or disturb by her revelation, but she didn't draw in comfort either to know that she was captivated by her brother's lips. From there she would mentally shake herself and draw in reminders of why she was here, but it still tugged at the back of her mind throughout the day. And as she tried to make sense of it, it would only give her a headache.

"Hmm," Sofia hears Amber say as she continued to look at her to-do list for their "Welcome Back" ball. It was nearly night out as Sofia looked out of the window and saw that the sun was well past setting and the night sky was filled with bright stars. "Well, for today, we've gotten a lot more done that I'd expected. So we're finished for the day."

"Oh, okay," Sofia said with a yawn, her head nodding with a tired slump. For nearly half the day, Sofia and Amber have been running around the entire castle trying to ensure that every detail was done and finished according to Amber's taste.

Since given James's approval for the ball, Amber has been engrossed in getting all of the arrangements ready for the ball in two weeks. Sofia remembers how party planning was Amber's inherited specialty and it always makes her happy to see how excited and joyful Amber's laugh and smiles become whenever she plans a ball or party.

"Are you tired?" Amber asked, looking at Sofia with the same exhausted eyes and smile as herself.

Through her almost closed eyes and the motion of tiredly nodding, Sofia could see how the light of the multiple candles made Amber's hair look like a beautiful shade of blonde and the green of her eyes flicker even brighter.

"Well I wonder why," she heard Amber laugh and felt the sofa move as Amber got up to stand and stretch. "It's because you spend nearly all of your energy with James all day and then exhaust yourself trying to help me with the ball."

Since figuring out that maybe reminiscing about the past keeps James sane and almost like his old self, Sofia has been in full force about spending nearly all day with him and just talking and laughing about the past. James seems to enjoy himself with her but it also tires Sofia because she has to keep thinking about new ways to just occupy his mind with the past. And it seems that the plan is already falling apart because there is only so much Sofia can think to talk about and she doesn't want to just find a way to "occupy" his mind as if he was some annoying child.

"I know Amber," Sofia says tiredly, "but I don't want to just leave you handling this big ball all by yourself. I would feel guilty that I didn't help you with _our_ ball."

"Yes, but I said to just leave all of it to _me_ so _you_ can just put all of your efforts into _James_," Amber mimicking how Sofia stressed the word "our". "Anyway, how is your plan working? I haven't heard of any new developments so far from you."

Biting her lips, Sofia didn't know if she wanted to spill to Amber all of her worries and only burden Amber. Seeing how happy she has been for the last few weeks now, Sofia didn't want to ruin it with all of her concerns and stress.

Since their return, Baileywick and many of the staff has taken notice of how well Sofia's presence has affected James. Around the castle Sofia and Amber also overhear the castle staff and soldiers talk about how calmer the castle seems now that they have returned. Baileywick even tells her that he has never seen James this happy or content in the long years he has watched over him. Sofia remembers feeling the tension and insanity of the palace and the people inside when she first stepped foot in the throne room, but now it seems like it all disappeared. And she couldn't be happier at the quick and immediate results of trying to save James. It's like all of her hard work at trying to show James the light and helping him regain his sanity is all paying off with his surroundings.

But at the same time, Sofia could feel everyone's expectations and hope on her shoulders build as each day passed. It was as if they made her their savior and it made the pressure on her grow even more. She understood that half of that pressure was self-created but now that she can hear the happiness of everyone around her and seeing it on James made it almost too much to handle. Sofia knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to this whole arrangement three weeks ago, but to shoulder the pressure and weight of everyone's hope every day is just all too overwhelming. It's as if something in her is nagging at her and saying that she isn't worthy of their hope and praise, that she doesn't deserve it all. And the end of the kingdoms and James will be her fault because she couldn't match up to the pressure and failed miserably.

Yet, simultaneously, hearing the joy and hope in their voices made it all the more valuable and worthwhile. It makes her more determined to save James and the kingdoms, as if feeling their hope on her makes her strong enough to bare it and see her mission to the end.

"Sofia, I know that look," Amber said with arched brows as she sat back down next to Sofia. "Come on, tell me. If you don't, I can already count down as to when you'll explode from all of that pent up stress of yours."

And without any delay, Sofia poured it all out. All of her worries, doubts, and uncertainties came out of her like lightening. "... and it's like I have to do all of the work at trying to keep him sane and calm just for everyone else. And I don't like it, Amber. I'm sorry, but I don't."

Amber just nodded her head and patted Sofia's hand as she continued on, "And now, I see the flaws in my plan. To keep him in a good mood, I would have to be there at his side all day and make sure that I throw in some memories of the past just to keep him from killing or jailing anyone."

"Sofia…" she heard Amber say sympathetically, but didn't stop with her much needed rant.

"And that is no way to live! Because it's like you said, someday we would need to go home back to mom and how are we going to do that when this plan would require me to stay by his side and toss him a 'good memory' bone like he was a dog!"

"Sofia," Amber said again, trying to soothe her. But as Sofia continued on, her voice escalated and she could feel her cheeks growing hot from all of her frustration.

"I hate to treat him like that! He's our brother, not some annoying child that needs to be occupied. And he's the king for crying out loud! So –"

"Okay, okay," Amber said loudly, rubbing Sofia's hands. "Feel better?" She looked at Sofia with her gentle and wise eyes, smiling at her like she knew that all Sofia needed was just to rant and yell out all of her frustration.

Taking a deep breath, Sofia smiled at her older sister. "Yeah, thanks." It was always Amber that could see when Sofia was building up too much stress and frustration, and it was only Amber that knew exactly Sofia needed to do to let it all out.

Laughing softly, Amber just pulled Sofia into a hug and gently rubbed her back. "Sorry that I had to cut you off, you were just getting too loud." In the five years they've been together, Sofia has seen Amber grow into that nurturing and sometimes annoying older sister role. Amber has matured greatly and practically knows everything about Sofia. "But did you get it all out?"

"Yeah," Sofia said tiredly, already feeling the effects of ranting. "It's just frustrating to see that my plan won't be working. I mean, I already knew that my first plan was just temporary but – aaaraagh!" She felt her irritation coming back again.

Laughing some more at Sofia's inability to describe her chagrin, Amber said, "I get it, I get it. So have you thought up a new plan?"

Slumping her shoulders, Sofia shook her head. "No, I can't think of a single one. And that only annoys me even more."

Her plan was only two and a half weeks in before Sofia realized that it was already failing, and since then, she has been trying to think up with a new one before her fears of James spiraling back down comes true.

"Okay, so why don't you just tell me some ideas then? I know that if you do, then I can try to help you work this out and come up with a new plan."

Biting her bottom lip again, Sofia tried to remember all the ideas that have popped into her head over the past few weeks now. "Well… lately I've been getting this feeling that James is hiding something."

It was during one of their walks through the garden when Sofia, herself, made this realization. Tired from all of the reminiscing and talking about their childhood, Sofia tried to change the subject. Whenever she asked questions about James and anything personal, James would avoid it and try to turn the question on to Sofia.

Originally, Sofia thought it would be best to not talk about _that night_ because it was just safer that way. But now that it has been over three weeks and she figured that if James was already calm and sane enough, then why not just talk about it so she could figure out a new plan to saving James? Except it didn't turn out that way, he would dodge any question that related to that night and anything that was about him and his personal life. If it was about politics or the economy, then he would answer calmly and without any hesitation, but he would get touchy and refused to look at her in the eyes whenever the topic about him came up.

And then it dawned on Sofia that James has some kind of issue regarding that night and his personal life that he refused to talk about. As if he was trying to hide something or his issues….

"Hiding something?" Amber asked.

"No, no," Sofia mumbled, deep in thought. "Not hiding something, it's more like he's trying to not show whatever issues he has."

"Issues?"

Nodding, Sofia looked at Amber in the eyes with deep seriousness. "Yeah. I don't know how to explain it, but I think that it's whatever issue he has that makes him go mad and he's trying his hardest to not show it."

"Where did this theory come from?"

After her realization with James that same day, Sofia returned back to her room for the night and her mind just wandered. It returned to how James refused to talk about that night and his personal life, and how he nervous or sensitive he got around those topics. Sofia felt like it was just weird to see him like that because his behavior was so similar to that of a guilty person or someone who had some dark secret to hide. Like how he refused to talk about his nightmare, Sofia understood that maybe it was too scary to talk about but the way he brushed it off and told her he didn't want to talk about it in such a hard tone made it all seem so weird to her.

"It's been bugging me since he always refuses to talk about himself or anything personal during our time together throughout the day. He would always brush it aside or just avoid it like it was the chicken pox," Sofia said. "And… I don't know… it just seems weird to me because of the way he avoids it so badly. His behavior is radically different from that of a normal person, like he is hiding some dark issues."

"Hmm…" Sofia heard her sister say and, looking over at her, Sofia saw how deep in thought Amber was. Her right hand was on her chin, like she was mimicking The Thinker statue. It was a few minutes before Amber replied, "I can see where you're going with this. And by what you've explained, it does seem like he's hiding a lot."

"By the sound of your 'hmm'," Sofia said, wanting to ease the seriousness of the atmosphere because it was giving her a headache, "it seems like you have some plan inkling in your head."

When Amber started to shake her head, dread began to fill Sofia's heart. "Actually it's not much of a plan," Amber began, hope renewing inside of Sofia, "but have you tried talking to Cedric to give you a truth serum and trick James into taking it?"

Dumbstruck at first, Sofia didn't know how to respond at first. Then, with her palm to her face, Sofia shook her head and started to laugh when she heard her sister's giggling.

"Amber… I don't want to force it out of him like that." Sofia said through her laughing. "Anyway, Cedric is already too busy trying to fix that shimmering light spell for the ball."

"Hey, it was worth a shot." Amber said with a shrug. "But I was serious about asking Cedric for help though. Have you honestly tried talking to him and asking him to see what he can think up?"

"No…" Sofia replied honestly, feeling stupid for not thinking of that.

"Have you tried anyone besides me?" Amber asked in a joking tone.

"No…" Sofia said again, her head hanging lower.

"Sofia…" Amber said in a patronizing tone and Sofia saw the corners of her mouth drop into a frown.

"Okay, okay," Sofia, her hands up in surrender. "I'll ask them at the next cave meeting."

After coming up with her first plan, Sofia and Amber both told Baileywick and Cedric during lunch in secret. And later, both the men invited Sofia and Amber to a secret meeting held in the old troll caves by all of their supporters. When they both arrived down there late one night, Sofia couldn't help but notice how all of the crystals that were used by the trolls to mimic the night stars were removed and bare. The entire cave was empty and held no trace of the troll's existence down there. Baileywick later explained that because the trolls made so much noise with their banging clubs, James had them returned back to their caves. But that didn't last long because of his anger and short temper, so he had the trolls moved to the far east of the kingdom and made them mine for crystals in the nearby caves to keep them busy.

And when Sofia asks if anyone has heard any news about her old childhood friend, Gnarly, most would say that not much had been heard of regarding Gnarly. The most recent news that Baileywick has heard of was that Gnarly has become leader of his tribe of trolls and tries to keep his people's hopes up when working in the mines.

"Good," Amber said with smile. Sofia wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if Amber's smile just faltered a little. "But remember, Sofia. You're not all alone in this whole mission. Okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Sofia said quietly.

"Then come to me more often! Or even Baileywick, alright? I hate that you're taking this all in and just bottling it all up." Amber's smile was gone and a worried-filled expression framed her face, she was near to tears. "You can't just do that, Sofia! I know for a fact that if you do, then you're going to burst and explode because you always get so overwhelmed with the stress you put on yourself! I get so worried about you whenever I see you just not talk to me about this stuff because it's some heavy crap to lug around by yourself!"

Sofia always knew that Amber always held a happy and brave smile just for her, but to see her close to tears because of her made Sofia almost cry herself. Taken aback by her sister's wave of emotions, Sofia's heart almost broke to see how worried her sister was because of her. All she could muster was a simple, "I'm sorry," and just hugged Amber as tightly as she could.

But Amber continued on quietly into Sofia's shoulder, "for this entire week, you haven't talked to me about this whole situation and just plastered on this tough smile like nothing was wrong. And then entire time, I saw how stressed you looked and it hurt me inside to know that you were feeling all of this pressure and frustration all by yourself. But you didn't say a word to me about it. Sofia, I'm here because I want to help you. So please, talk to me and let me carry some of this James crap with you. Okay?"

"Okay…" Sofia whispered back.

And the two just remained there hugging each other tightly. Sofia hoped that Amber could feel how sorry she was through their hug.

For so long, Sofia has taken Amber for granted and never realized how much Amber gave to her, yet Sofia never gave any back. She never saw how much Amber need her just like how Sofia needed Amber. And that Sofia has never even given Amber a chance to just rant like just now.

Sofia realized that even though she held her own frustration with James, she never even saw that Amber had her own frustration with her. That seeing her bottle in everything must have taken its own toll on Amber because she wanted nothing more than to help Sofia and be there for her, but she couldn't because Sofia wouldn't talk to Amber.

After several minutes of silence, the two finally released and smiled warmly back at each other.

"Well, that escalated quickly." Sofia asked jokingly. "Feel better? Did you get it all out of your system?"

Laughing, Amber smiled even bigger as she got up from her seat. "Yeah. And I can say the same thing for you." Extending out her hand, Amber said, "come on. I don't know about you, but after all of that just now, I need a late night snack."

Together the sisters walked quietly into the hallway and tried to make their way towards the kitchen, hoping to not disturb anyone along the way. But Sofia didn't think they would make it that far because all of the giggling the two of them were making.

It wasn't that long ago when Sofia and Amber would sneak out at night to rummage for something to eat in the late night. Back at the countryside estate, Sofia and Amber nearly sneak out every night just to eat the left over dessert their maids, Marie and Abby, would hide just for the two of them. Each time they would try to tiptoe into the kitchen to eat it, they would always get caught by their mother because of their loud giggling and snorting laughs and to which would become even louder with the addition of their mother and their maids.

By the time they made it down the long grand stairs, Sofia was surprised that no one in the castle has awoken yet because of all of the noise they were making.

Turning the corner at the bottom of the stairs, Sofia and Amber both bumped into something hard and warm. With her eyes still on the floor, she saw that whomever they bumped into were palace guards because of the uniformed footwear they wore. Looking up, Sofia was joyfully surprised to both of their personal guards and a couple of other guards a few steps behind Cyrus and Edward.

"Princess Amber and Princess Sofia," Edward said in his usual scratchy voice with a respectful bow. Cyrus and the three men behind him quickly followed with a bow of their own, to which the girls returned with their courtly curtsy.

Since meeting, Sofia and Amber have both gotten to know both men better and the four of them has become rather fast friends. If she wasn't with James all day or helping Amber with their ball, Sofia was always found around Amber and the two men simply enjoying their company with laughs and tea. Cyrus was always escorting her around the palace and diligently following her with a respectful distance whenever she was in the presence of another person, and Sofia could imagine that Edward was doing the same for Amber. With their close friendship, Sofia and Cyrus has become accustomed to calling each other by their first names. Later, even Amber began to do the same with Edward. But Edward was still the last of the foursome to call the two princesses by their first names, admitting that he was having a hard time removing his standard regulations from his friendship with them. Over time, he got used to it and only calls them with their titles when he was in public with other people around.

And Sofia had to admit that knowing that Cyrus was always around to protect her was something she liked. He had a comforting presence about him that just drew her in. Every time she looked away, she would always see him not that far from her and she couldn't help but always blush whenever he smiled at her. It was that lopsided, goofy smile of his that Sofia liked the most, and with those warm hazel eyes, it gave him this soft gentleness that she couldn't find in anyone at the castle or anywhere else.

"What are you two doing up so late?" Edward asked, looking curiously at them but his eyes remained on Amber.

Beside him, Sofia heard Cyrus tell the men behind them a goodnight and to go on ahead. Clasping hands into a manly hug, the men began to leave and said their nightly farewells to the two men, but Edward's eyes refuse to leave Amber's.

"We were… um…" Sofia heard Amber stuttered. "Well, you see…."

Looking over at her sister, she noticed how pink and bright Amber's cheeks appeared.

_Amber never stutters like this! _Sofia thought. _Between me and her, she was always the one who could gracefully talk her way out of any mess. So why are you stuttering like this, Amber? And especially in front of guys, too! You're never like this._ Looking back and forth from the two men in front of them and Amber, Sofia tried to figure it out as to what is causing her sister to flush so deeply and to stutter so badly. _I just don't get it…. What's going on –_

And then, it hits Sofia like a slap in the face.

_It's because of Edward! It all makes sense now! _

For the past few days, whenever Amber and Sofia had tea with their guards, Sofia couldn't help but notice how Amber's cheeks turn just a light shade of pink. And whenever her hands would accidentally touch Edward's, her face would become a bright red. Her demeanor didn't change in the slightest, but it was only her cheeks that gave her away. Sofia didn't think much about it because Amber would always go on and on about meeting some princely suitors, but to see her stumble over her words because of coincidentally bumping into Edward was a clear indicator of how Amber really felt towards her handsome guard.

_So that's why you made it such a big deal to give him his invitation to the ball in person and in private!_ Sofia giggled to herself.

The same goes for Edward. Sofia noticed the same type of behavior from the quiet guard. That his cheeks would become just slightly flushed and rosy whenever he was around Amber and how he would try whatever he can to just brush his hands against hers.

"We were just on our way to the kitchen," Sofia said, quickly saving her sister from any more embarrassment.

"Oh, would you mind if I join you?" Edward asked. Even though his question was aimed at Sofia, his eyes wouldn't leave Amber's.

And to Sofia's surprise, Amber's blush became even redder, but it seemed that her voice quickly recovered. "No, it's quite alright if you join us. We're just going to look for something light to eat."

With a blush of his own, Edward smiled shyly and nodded his response. Neither one of them made a move and soon an awkward silence began to loom around.

"Cyrus, would you like to join as well?" Sofia quickly said, hoping to remove the awkward silence between the two of them.

And with a nod from him, Sofia took his offered arm and began to walk towards the kitchen. But not before giving Amber's shoulder a gentle and encouraging shove. Walking ahead of Amber, she looked behind and tried to motion for Amber to take Edward's arm and start walking. And much to her relief, Amber appeared to get the hint.

Well into the night, the four of them managed to find left over cake and desserts as well as simple snakes in the well-stocked kitchen. Sofia and Amber filled their stomachs with all sorts of candies and fruits. Along with tea, the men found some left over wine the chef kindly gave to them. Left alone in the kitchen, the foursome's laughter turned loud and festive.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sofia watched Amber as she talked and giggled with Edward. It seemed as if what happened earlier didn't faze Amber at all, she returned back into her confident and composed self. But at the same time, Sofia noticed how at ease she appeared to be with Edward. Her eyes grew soft and loving with him and, in return, he looked at her with caring and gentle eyes, as if she was some fragile dove he didn't want to scare away. They talked and laughed with Sofia and Cyrus, but, by the looks between them and how their eyes got caught with each other, it was like they were in their own world.

And Sofia felt like she was intruding on something that only belonged between the two of them. If she could describe it, it was like an atmosphere of soft pink surrounded them and glowed gently. Smiling to herself, Sofia just wanted to leave them be and allow them to have this moment between them.

As if reading her mind, Sofia felt a tug on her sleeve. Turning, she saw Cyrus motion his head over towards the kitchen door and by the smile on his face, she could tell that he wanted to let them have this moment privately too.

The moment they were safely out of the swinging doors, Sofia and Cyrus dashed out of the dining room as quickly as possible.

Back at the bottom of the grand stairway, Cyrus let out a breathless laugh. "It's about time."

Breathless herself from their mad dash, it took Sofia a few more gasps to catch her breath. "What do you mean? Does Edward like Amber?" Sofia thought it was best if she didn't reveal anything about what she believed to be Amber's feelings for Edward out of respect for her older sister.

Looking conflicted, Cyrus looked like he wanted to say something badly. Or if he just had to just use the restroom. Letting out an exasperated huff, he grabbed hold of Sofia's shoulders and lowered himself to look at her in the eyes. "I really didn't want to say anything but he is just making my life miserable by gushing on and on about how beautiful she is and whatnot. So I'm hoping that you can help me out here, Sofia."

"Oh my gosh!" Sofia responded excitedly, clapping her hands happily. "He likes her! I knew it!"

"Promise me you won't speak a word of this to Amber," Cyrus said, looking her dead in the eyes.

"I promise."

"Do you swear?"

"I swear."

"Do you give me your word as a princess –"

"Cyrus," Sofia said impatiently with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," he said with his hands up. "So will you help me? Because if I have to head another word of how perfect her hair is in the sunlight one more time, I just might hurt somebody. And it looked like to me that Amber likes Edward too."

"Yes! Of course I'll help you." Sofia started to jump up and down, clapping her hands out of pure excitement for her sister. _It may not be a prince, but it's a guard, Amber!_

Laughing at how stupid she might be appearing, Cyrus returned his hands on Sofia's shoulders to calm her back down. Bending down to eye level with her, nearly nose to nose, he asked her to promise one more time that she would not say anything to anybody."…not a single soul," he said as seriously as he could though his laughs.

But before Sofia was unable to respond, a familiar voice interrupted their conversation.

"Sofia?" Its tone was ice cold, but raging with fury.

Turning her head, she saw James at the top of the grand staircase. His face dead calm but, even at the bottom of the stairs, she could see the anger and ferocity in his eyes.

* * *

Chapter Seven!

And cue the "Dun! Dun!" sound effects!

As always, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed. You guys are the heart and soul of this series. I mean it, without all of your great reviews and love, I probably would have given up on this series because of how hectic my summer classes are getting. But I persevered because of all of your love and positivity, you guys motivate me to continue on. So, a big thank you to you all.

Now, because I have been getting a lot of messages to finally get James to see Sofia and Cyrus together. And... Well, here you have it! Ta-da! Things just got interesting! AND it's in Sofia's POV because this chapter just got too long and you all asked for it, so I had to split it into two chapters and into two different POV's.

Again, tell me about what you all want to see in the future chapters. If I see a lot of people wanting the same thing, I'll try to set it into the series and you guys might see it in the future chapters. Read and Review!

A bit of a warning here. Things are going to get juicy and, as it seems, the rating may be leaning towards the stronger teen side. So I'm just warning you guys now, if you are a younger teen, it may get too mature for you guys. It may get a bit PG-16 for you, maybe even PG-17. This is only a warning, I'm not going to alter anything in my future chapters because then it's going to change the entire storyline. I'm only warning our younger readers. Thank you for understanding.

Thanks :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 8: James's Revelation **

_**James**_

James couldn't move. No matter how hard he tried to command his legs to move, even just an inch, they refused. And like his legs, his eyes wouldn't allow him to look away.

Every second longer he remained rooted at the top of the stairs, the faster and louder his heart beat became. With each beat that rang in his ears, James could hear each and every crack that formed in his heart.

He only wanted to just go down into the kitchen for a glass of water before he return to his room for the night. And like the accursed fates above, he had to stumble upon what looks like Sofia is about to be kissed by the same palace guard that always follows her around. Both of his hands were on her shoulders and he leaned in so close to her that the tips of their noses were touching.

His heart was breaking and he knew it.

James didn't understand it. Things were going so well in the past three weeks, everything was perfect. So how did this happen? Why is she about to be kissed by this buffoon? Why is she even _letting_ him going to kiss her?

Since they've returned, almost every day now, Sofia would spend all of her time with _him_. They would talk and laugh _together_ in the garden or on their walks. Not once were they with whoever that idiot was. It was only Sofia and James!

Whenever they were together, it was like they were in a world of their own and nothing could disturb them. They were at peace in their memory bubble. All day they would just reminisce about the past and had hours upon hours of laughs built up together.

He was even proud that he didn't go berserk on anyone at the castle. Not once did he blow a casket and try to kill or imprison someone. He didn't yell at anyone out of pure anger, he didn't send anyone to the mines in the east. The only thing he remembers was simply getting upset with some people and just snipping at them, but other than that, everything was okay.

James almost felt like his old self whenever he was with Sofia.

Sofia had that effect on him. She kept him calm with her soft laughs and contagious smiles. Just hearing her velvety soft voice beside him was all he needed just to remain sane; to have her only look at him with her bright gem-blue eyes was all he wanted.

She made him happy…. She gave him hope….

Every day, it was only them and their laughs.

And James felt it at the pit of his stomach. The growing anger.

I _made her laugh… _I _made her smile…. You didn't! You don't deserve to touch her! _James fumed in his mind. _Everything was perfect! You're going to ruin what Sofia and I have! _

James didn't understand it, but he felt like she was going to be taken away from him. That whatever Sofia had with this guard, it was going to ruin everything between James and Sofia. That she would want to be with that fool more than with him.

And from where he stood, his anger just grew even more when he saw the feelings that roamed the guard's eyes. James could recognize the love and care that the young man directed towards Sofia and the way his gaze softened as he just looked at her. The guard's light blushing only confirmed James's realization.

_He has feelings for her!_ James fumed on as he continued to watch them.

Without another thought, James tried his hardest to regain his composure but it was hard to do as he continued to watch her laugh and clap her hands around the mindless fool. To see her smiling and talking with him only made his anger grow tenfold.

With as much control as he could muster, James uttered Sofia's name. But even through his heart's rapid beating in his ears, he could hear the icy tone of his voice.

James noticed that it looked like Sofia was about to say something to the man so close in front of her before he interrupted whatever moment they had together. When she turned to look at him, he saw her smile falter and, to his amazement, that didn't make him lose it. Just yet.

"James?" he heard in her velvety smooth voice. Her head tilted to one side as if confused by his presence so late at night. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you the same," he gritted between his teeth. James could still hear how his bitter tone remained, running through his voice and words like poison.

James made his way down the stairs as slowly and calmly as he could, fighting every fiber in his body to run down there and beat the boy away from Sofia. He wanted nothing more than to rip the guard's hands off of Sofia's shoulders and hide her away in James's arms so that no man would set their eyes on his precious princess.

"Amber and I were in the kitchen earlier," Sofia said with a cautious smile. "We were looking for a late night snack."

James saw in her hesitant smile that Sofia could hear his anger. It wasn't like James was trying to hide it, but he still didn't have a good grasp at controlling it either. His anger was the one thing he didn't want Sofia to see from him, and no matter how hard he tried to restrain it, it was still stronger than him. It was a monster within him.

And the closer he gets towards Sofia and the idiot, the more it builds. He could feel his anger growing stronger, already trying to control his words. It was only a matter of time before it would burst and hurt Sofia.

But of course, his anger wouldn't allow a single rational thought into his head. It only wanted answers. It told him that he needed to know why this man was so close to Sofia. Why was he going to kiss her?

"Then where is she? And who is this man?" James seethed through his teeth as he finally made his way off of the stairs.

"She's still in the kitchen with Sir Edwards," Sofia answered back, her tone turning hard in response to his brisk questions. Raising her head higher, she looked at him in the eyes and motioned at the man who still had his hands on Sofia's shoulders. "This is Sir Michelson. He's my personal guard."

After having over three weeks to get to know Sofia again and getting reacquainted, he got to see how stronger and feistier she has become. He loved it how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and hearing her how sharp her tongue has grown.

But right now, in this situation, his anger wouldn't allow him even the simple enjoyment of Sofia's fiery spunk.

No. It wanted him to just get angrier. It wanted him to yell and scream at them.

"Personal guard?" James asked, his tone hastily becoming harsher by the second. "Why is he your personal guard?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to expla –" James heard the guard speak up, finally removing his hands off of Sofia.

But James quickly stopped the guard. "I wasn't asking _you_, you fool. I was asking _Sofia_."

Finally getting a good look at the guard, James saw that the man had brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked young and was a bit tall for a palace guard, but he was still a few inches shorter than James. That knowledge gave James a bitter joy, allowing him to glare down at the young man who dared to touch Sofia.

"James!" Sofia glared at him with strong intensity.

Looking back at Sofia, James saw that her nose was flared and her usual plump and full lips were in a thin line.

_She's upset with me_, James thought.

But he didn't care. The anger inside of him only wanted to hurt this man and rip out all of the answers from Sofia.

"I won't ask again, Sofia." James glared back, matching the intensity in her blue eyes. His voice was low and even angrier. "Why is he your personal guard?"

Taking a moment to square her shoulders and regain her composure, Sofia answered back with a short answer. "Because I wanted him to be," Sofia frowned. Her tone was carefully calm and controlled, like the time when she first arrived back at the castle. "He's my friend and I had him assigned to me as a personal guard."

And with her answer, James felt his boiling anger burst free.

James didn't understand why, but hearing her say that she wanted this clown to be her personal guard didn't settle well on him. To him, it was like hearing that she asked him to be her suitor. James knew that it was idiotic to think like that, but he just didn't like it.

"What?!" James knew that yelling at her would accomplish nothing for him, but it was his anger that held onto him too tightly. It curled its soot-black fingers around him and didn't budge when he tried so hard to free himself.

"Look, James," Sofia said firmly, her angry tone still there. "Until you calm down and try to not yell at me or Sir Michelson, I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"Sofia, you can't have this man as your personal guard!" James yelled, stepping towards her until he was in her face. "I forbid it!"

"Excuse me?" Sofia exclaimed back. She closes whatever gap they had between them and scowled up at him now with all of the anger in her, her hands on her hips. "You can't tell me what to do James!"

"Yes I can! I am the king!"

"I don't care if you are the king! I won't listen to you when you're yelling at me like this!" she yelled back at him, jabbing him in the chest with one of her fingers.

"Your Majesty," James heard the guard, apparently named Sir Michelson, say. James felt a hard hand on his chest and was pushed back from Sofia. "Please, calm down. Just let me explain myself."

Sir Michelson was now between them. James watched as he took Sofia's hand and pulled her protectively behind him. His eyes could only glare at how tightly he held Sofia's hand and never released it.

That action alone made him even angrier and the fury within him just grew even more.

Without any hesitation, James rushed forward and stood into Sir Michelson's face. James hands clenched hard at his side, urging him to throw a punch at the stupid man in front of him. "I don't want to hear anything from you," James raged. "This is between me and Sofia! You are only a lowly palace guard, you have nothing worth hearing!"

To his pleasure, James saw Sir Michelson react to his angry yells. His nose flared and his entire expression immediately turned. He noticed how the guard's body tensed as his brows furrowed and the sides of his mouth frowned.

"As her personal guard, Your Majesty," Sir Michelson began with hard tension.

But he was never able to finish his sentence before James's body acted on its own and his arm was already in the air, ready to punch the living daylights out of Sir Michelson.

_You are not her personal guard! I can see in your eyes that you want to be something more!_

To his dismay, Sir Michelson managed to dodge his blow and looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before lunging at him. The next thing he knew, James and Sir Michelson was on the floor, tumbling and straining against each other's strengths.

Punches and kicks were thrown left and right. James felt some blood trickle down his bottom lip and upper left brow. But James felt no pain as the adrenaline numbed his body from any of Sir Michelson's punches to his face. And to his enjoyment, he saw some of the guard's own blood spill from his injuries James gave him in return.

In the background, James heard Sofia screaming and yelling at the two of them.

Amid their tussle, James somehow found himself in a headlock in Sir Michelson's arms. Against himself, James could feel how strong the guard was and, for what felt like a lifetime, James struggled against Sir Michelson's strength.

"Just give up!" he hissed at James.

"Like Hell!" James spat back. In the back of his mind, James knew that if he did, he would be giving up more than just this fight. He would be giving up Sofia.

And some part of him didn't want that. He didn't want to hand her over to this imbecile. James couldn't stand the thought of her in Sir Michelson's arms, being kissed and touched by him. That thought alone was close enough to cause him to vomit.

No, James wanted to keep her in _his_ arms.

Again, James heard Sir Michelson hiss into his ear to give up and end this fight. But James knew that with his anger and the adrenaline pumping through him, and along with his stubbornness, he wouldn't give up until one of them was knocked unconscious.

_And because of Sofia_, James thought. _It's because she's watching that I can't give up. I don't want to do that in front of her. If I did and she witnessed that I surrendered so easily, then where would my pride go? _

James could hear how breathless Sir Michelson was getting. His breathing was getting raspy and James knew that he was getting tired. Thinking quickly, James used his elbow to give Sir Michelson a good blow to his stomach and toppling him over to his side. Using that to his advantage, James body slammed on top of him.

But he was only able to give the guard one good punch before being kicked over by Sir Michelson's leg.

However, James managed to roll away and quickly stand before the guard could try to pin him down. And to James's dismay, he saw that the moment he regained his balance and stood tall, so did Sir Michelson.

Then it soon became a standoff as the men glared at each other, huffing and breathless. James only tried to stare him down, hoping that Sir Michelson would turn and run with his tail between his legs.

But from the looks in his eyes and how he returned James's hard stare, James knew that it wasn't a possibility.

Then James saw Sir Michelson lung towards him at full speed and, soon, he did the same. And with each one of his steps pounding against the hard floor of the palace, James's anger made it so that his only thought was to hurt and beat this man until he was unconscious. Until he was dead.

Just when his fists were about to make contact with the young man's face, something pulled him back towards the opposite direction of the grand hallway. He felt his body being lifted off of the ground and was soon suspended in the air. Floating, James saw the same thing happen to Sir Michelson and just watched as the anger and fury in Sir Michelson's eyes die and turned into confusion.

"You two are a bunch of idiots!" James heard Sofia yell.

And just like before, to hear Sofia raise her voice so loud and at such a level, it shocked all of the anger and rage right out of his system. James could do nothing but just look down at her speechless. He saw Sofia with her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the both of them. Her bright red cheeks told him just how upset she was with them. From the brightness of her cheeks, he could tell that she wanted to just yell and curse at him but was holding it in.

Behind her, James saw Cedric, Amber, and a red-haired palace guard. Cedric was holding out his wand and had it pointed at him and Sir Michelson. And it occurred to him that maybe during the fight, Sofia ran to the sorcerer and had him help her stop the brawl.

"Thank you, Cedric." Sofia said over her shoulder as she walked towards them.

"Of course, Princess Sofia," Cedric said with a nod.

When she made her way beneath them, she looked up and glared. "Are you two done acting like numbskulls?"

"Sofia…" James heard Sir Michelson plead.

It sounded like he was going to continue on but was stopped short when Sofia held up a hand to silence him. "Because if you're not, then I am more than glad to ask if Cedric will keep you two like this until you are. Maybe even all night."

When neither one of them replied to her for a few minutes, Sofia looked over her shoulder and asked, "Cedric, can put them down please?"

And with just a nod, Cedric lowered them down in front of Sofia. Landing gently onto the ground on all fours, James heard the tapping of some toes and looked up to see that the sound was coming from Sofia. She looked like she was impatiently waiting for the both of them to get up onto their feet and stand.

Not wanting to upset her any more than she already was, James stood up as quickly as he could. And out of the corners of his eye, he saw Sir Michelson do the same.

When both men were finally standing before her, Sofia just stood there a moment to glare cold, hard daggers at them until they couldn't withstand the icy pressure of her glares anymore. She had her lips in such a tight thin line that her normally red lips turned white from the pressure she was forcing on them.

When he couldn't take the silence any more, James was the first to speak. "Sofia…"

And just like Sir Michelson, he was stopped short. But not from a raised hand. No, from a loud and stinging slap to the face.

"I don't know what got into you, James, and I don't know why you were so upset to begin with, but what happened just now was out of hand and completely immature."

James was left utterly speechless.

For as long as he has known her, Sofia has never raised her hand against any living thing. Not even to a fly or miniscule bug. Sofia was too loving and caring to do such a thing. Even when she was at her lowest or when she was fed up with everyone, she never had the nerve in her to hurt anything or anyone around her.

So for her to openly slap him like that with what felt like every ounce of strength in her, it was enough to tell James that he had completely screwed up. And soon, dread and shame washed over him like a million waves.

"And you too," James watched as she turned to Sir Michelson and slapped him with what appeared to be the same painful force. "Cyrus, I haven't known you that long, but I still had expected better from you."

Sir Michelson, or Cyrus, opened his mouth to say something but closed it when she raised her hand again to silence him.

"I know that James was the one who instigated the entire fight and threw the first punch, but you could have handled it way differently," Sofia said with a hard look.

With his head hung low, James heard Cyrus apologize with a pitiful tone. "I'm so sorry, Sofia…. I didn't mean for it to escalate to that extent. I-I don't know what happened…."

After a while, James then heard her sigh and saw her eyes soften just a bit. "I don't blame you, Cyrus. I know you didn't start the fight. We'll talk later." Sofia then looked behind her and asked, "Amber, Edward, can you two go and help Cyrus get cleaned up? I'll handle James. Thank you again, Cedric. You can return back to your workshop now."

With a final and silent nod, Cedric left the grand hallway. Amber and the man James takes is Edward quickly rushed to Cyrus and helped him into the other room. But before leaving them alone, James saw Amber shoot him a dirty and nasty glare as Edward stopped a maid and ordered her to gather some cloths with warm water and a first-aid kit.

James hasn't moved from his spot and only stood there as he watched Sofia talk to some maids and heard her give them same order as Edward did. And once they exited the room, James and Sofia were the only ones left in the grand hallway.

A heavy silence soon gathered in the room as James couldn't find any words appropriate enough to say to Sofia. He couldn't even force a word to form on his lips nor could he find it in him to look at Sofia in the eyes as the shame and humiliation still loomed over him.

Gone was his madness and hatred, and what replaced it was the mortification and guilt.

James wanted nothing more than to apologize to Sofia and beg her to forgive him, but he knew that this time, an "I'm sorry" wouldn't be enough. All he could do was just watch her as she looked back at him like she was trying to read him.

He didn't know how long they stayed that way, just looking at each other and trying to evaluate what one would do to the other.

And then, Sofia ended James's eternal silence by sighing again. "Come on, let's go to your room and get you cleaned up before all that blood on you dries."

James didn't know what to say or do as she held out her hand and just stood there like she was waiting for him to take it. He couldn't believe that after everything that just happened, she would still want to help him. And looking into her eyes now, he saw that she still looked at him with kindness. Her gaze was still hard and angry, but it was a little softer and gentler now, and light still danced around with the blue flecks in her eyes.

And when his hesitant hands finally met hers, she just held on and they walked in silence up the stairs.

The entire way back to his room, in the quiet, nightly silence that surrounded them, the only thing James could focus on was the shape and warmth of her hands. Despite being so small and slender in his, there was a quite strength to them. And James noticed that after several weeks of staying at the castle, the callousness of her hands have reduced and softened tremendously. Her hands still held some type of toughness to them, but they weren't as bad as they were in the beginning.

And James found himself liking that her soft small hands were just a little rough. In some way, it gave her something that no other girl or lady in the kingdom or his life had. Maybe it was a valor or spirit, maybe it was something else entirely. But he knew that it was a uniqueness that made her special in his eyes.

As his thoughts continued to be inhabited by only Sofia, James felt his cheeks, lips, and upper brow begin to throb with pain as they neared his room. James knew that the adrenaline that pumped through his body earlier now subsided and the numbing effect wore off, allowing the pain and throbbing to mob him. With his wounds agonizingly pounding in his ears, he could barely hear the maid's tiny steps behind him and Sofia.

Finally, they were inside of his rom and Sofia placed him into one of the cushioned sitting chairs in the room as the maids placed the cloths, bowl of warm water, and first-aid kit on the table beside him. He heard Sofia quietly thank the maids and excused them from his room.

And just like earlier at the bottom of the grand stairs, James was left all alone with Sofia.

James could only watch her as she pulled a chair in front of him and silently sat down. Next, she simply submerged one of the few cloths into the warm water and started to clean his face.

The entire time, she didn't say a word to him. James nearly couldn't even bear look into her eyes as she cupped his chin and moved his face this way and that. And it pained his heart to see that her eyes were so heavily guarded and distant from him after having over three weeks together to bond and get to know one another.

He knew that he was to blame for everything that transpired moments earlier, the guilt weighed down on him like a million boulders.

After she finished cleaning and the water was now murky with his blood, she started to apply healing ointment and bandages on him. And James knew that if he didn't say anything now, then he would never have the chance again to apologize and that of his hard work to bond closely with her would remain broken.

James needed to fix this, but he didn't know how to go about it because of her emotionless and harsh glare.

But, swallowing down his nervousness and clearing his throat, James opened his mouth and tried to voice his apology. His mouth felt dry and his cheeks still throbbed from the pain, but he paved on anyway.

"Sofia…" he started weakly. James attempted to look at her in the eyes, but her glare was too much for him. "I…. I-I-I'm sorry," James couldn't think of anything else to say.

James found it so hard to talk, nonetheless to even utter his apology. It was like something was lodged in his throat and refused to let him try to explain himself. Forcing himself to talk through it was like fighting something within him. "Sof…. I… feel so bad… about… what happened down there…. I don't… know what got over me."

Sofia remained silent through his apology, her lips was nearly white again from biting down on her lips. And after she finished bandaging his cuts and bruises, she simply got up and headed towards the door.

But James managed to grasp her wrist and stop her before she even managed two steps away from him.

"_Please_, Sof. Hear me out."

Maybe it was the desperate way he sounded, but he didn't care because it finally got Sofia to respond to him. And without turning, she said in a hard and angry tone, "why should I?"

"Sof, please. I –"

"No!" Sofia turned to scream at him. "Why? Hmm? Why should I even listen to a thing you have to say? _Because you're king?_"

James winced at how she threw back his own words at him. "Please, just let me explain," James tried again.

"Then explain this," Sofia asked angrily, ripping her wrist out of his grip and crossing her arms. "Why did it even bother you that Cyrus was my personal guard?"

"I-I-I…" James stuttered, not knowing how he could answer her question when he himself didn't understand why it bothered him, "don't… know…."

"Then, I'm leaving." She promptly said, turning on her heel and walking quickly to the door.

"Wait!" James ran in front of her, stopping her again.

"James, 'I don't know' just won't do it this time. Either you give me an answer or I leave."

"Sof –"

"No! I am serious, James!"

"Plea –"

"James! Answer me!"

And they continued like this, yelling and screaming back and forth. Sofia would try to leave and James would only stop her before she made a step towards the door. She would yell at him to answer him, to which James would only stutter that he can't. James felt like it was an endless cycle.

It lasted until Sofia made it to the door and her hand was on the handle before James stopped her again by placing his hand over hers.

"James move, it's obvious that you're not going to give me an answer." Sofia glared at him as she tried to pull the door open, but James knew that she wouldn't even get the door to budge because he was bigger and stronger than her. "So I'm lea –"

"I didn't like seeing you with him!" James yelled at her, frustrated at her for pulling this out of him and the entire conversation for mounting his frustration to its peak. All James wanted was for her to stay and could only say the words that conveyed the honesty in him. "I… just didn't… like seeing you with him…."

He saw how speechless she was now, just looking at him with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. And James decided that now was his chance to try and explain himself to her as best as he could. "Sofia," he began, but it soon became a ramble of sorts, "when I came down, I saw what looked like you two were kissing and I just got upset. I honestly don't know why it bothered me, but it just did and I hated the thought of you with another boy. Maybe it was my overprotectiveness as an older brother, I don't know. I just didn't like it. And I know that getting angry and starting a fight wasn't the best approach to it all, but I just couldn't control it. I'm so sorry, Sofia…."

James only saw how she silent and speechless she remained after he finished fumbling explanation weakly. She just lowered her head and stared at the floor between them.

"Look, James," he heard Sofia say as she continued to stare at the floor. "I get that you're sorry, you always are whenever things get out of control like this and you're at the center of it all. But you have to understand that it can't keep going on like this. You get mad at someone, you take it out on them or the person nearest you, and then when I come to calm you down, you always end up apologizing like hell. And I'm so tired of this, James. I'm tired of this cycle."

James bent down and held both of her hands. "Then tell me what to do to fix it."

"_I've_ been trying to fix it James! I've been trying so hard!" And when she looked up at him, James saw that she was near tears. "This entire time, James, I have been trying to find ways for you to not lose it and go berserk –"

"And I haven't gone berserk, Sofia," James defended himself, hoping that would help her see him in a better light.

"Yes, I know. But you don't understand, James. _I've_ been doing all of the work in trying to help you. And I'm tired of it. _I _always have come and calm you down; _I _always have to be there and try to keep you sane; _I_ have to do all of the heavy lifting in trying to help you. And, yes I get that I'm your saving light. I've been trying to save you James and help you get better, I honestly have. But James, I can't keep doing this when you're not trying yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"James, whenever I try to talk to you about yourself, you never open up. You always turn the conversation around or just completely avoid the topic. I want to hear about you, James. I want to get to know you and learn about how much you've changed over the last five years. But you _never _do."

"Sof," James tried as he saw how her tears were running free down her cheeks now. But Sofia continued on, ignoring him and just unleashing all of her frustration on him.

"James, if you really want me to stay here and help you like you asked on my first day back, then you need to help me too. Open up and actually talk to me about yourself. To me, it seems like you're hiding something from me by the way you hold it all back and refuse to open up." And with that, Sofia just stared back at him with her tearstained cheeks and crying red eyes.

James didn't know what to say. The only thing that popped into his head to say back was a simple apology, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough for her.

_What can I say that would be enough for her to accept?_ James thought. _After all of this, after hearing her frustration at me and after learning what she wants from me, what can I say back? All I want right now is to just hold her and say apologize for making her cry. I just want hug her and kiss her and make it all okay…. _James didn't even curse at himself for having thoughts of kissing her. He couldn't afford to, not when she was crying like this.

And simply following the motions of his body, James did just what his thoughts wanted him to. He hugged her tightly, not saying a single word. He embraced her tighter and tighter as he felt how her body relaxed in his arms.

And despite himself, James liked how he knew that she found enough comfort in him to relax like this. He didn't hear any cries or sniffles come out of her, he just listened to her soft breathing and felt the tension leave her body as she held onto him in return. James stroked her hair and back as their hug continued on, enjoying how soft her hair was. Being so much taller than her, James's chin was able to rest on the top of her head. Even in their situation, James found himself liking their embrace and how perfectly their body molded together

_I like this,_ James thought. But then, some sort of realization came over him. _No… wait… I like _her_… I like how perfect she is. I like how kind and wonderful she acts around everyone, realizing only the good in them and wanting to help every living thing in the world. She's too beautiful to be a part of this world and yet, she's the most humble and down to earth person here. She's too sweet towards everyone in the castle, especially that Cyrus fool. She gives so much and never expects anything in return. Hell, she's even willing to help a monster like me. I need her because she makes me happy. I like – love everything about her. _

And unlike the last realization, the next one hit him in full force. _I love her. I love how beautiful she is. I love how charitable, affectionate, compationate, graceful – every word in the known languages isn't enough to describe how wonderful she is. And I am in love with her. _The thought kept on rolling and drilling into James's mind,_ I am in love with Sofia. She's my sister, my _stepsister_, and I am in love with her._

_That explains the reason why I got so crazy when I thought they were kissing, it was because I was jealous! Sofia is the only person who can keep me calm and the only reason why I get so crazy! I don't want her around any other guy because I am in love with her. She keeps me happy and I always want her around me because I. Am. In. Love. With. Her. _

_This all explains why I always get those urges to kiss her whenever we just hang out together. And why I love the touch of her skin and how soft it always is, that her scent always drives me crazy and why I am always so aware of her breasts. Oh, crap! That's why I was so disappointed when I found out didn't sleep with her. I wanted to bed her because I find her sexy and she turns me on! Oh, crap! Oh, crap! I am physically attracted to Sofia! _

James felt like someone threw ice water all over him. His body tensed up and his was stiff like a piece of wood, but he couldn't find it in himself to release Sofia because his mind was occupied by his revelation. He didn't know if she could feel how rigid and tight he became, but at the moment he didn't care because of how deep he was in his own thoughts.

_Oh, crap... I am in love with Sofia…. _

* * *

Chapter eight! Woo!

As always, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! I always love reading everyone's reviews and seeing how much you all love the recent chapters. All of your positivity makes me so happy! :)

I don't have much to say here, except that a lot of people have been messaging me to finally get James to realize his feelings for Sofia. I've been pushing this off until I felt like it was a good and right time for him to fully see his feelings, so I'm sorry to everyone who's been begging me to put this into the chapters. But it's finally here! :)

Read. Review. Etc.

Thanks :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 9: Sofia's Theory and Experiment**

_**Sofia**_

Sofia was alone in her room in the late autumn afternoon, deep in thought as she lay back on her large canopy bed. Her arms left open at her sides and her long brunette hair sprawled everywhere. In the following months since her return, Sofia hasn't had any time to herself to simply just sit and think. Sofia enjoyed nothing more than to just sit in peace and allow her mind to wander, to let it get lost and empty itself from all the daily burdens that always weighs heavily on her.

But, as of late, she found that she's had less and less time to just enjoy the silence of herself. In just three days, Sofia's and Amber's "Welcome Back" ball would be here. With the closeness of their ball, Amber has been driving Sofia and the palace staff, Baileywick in particular, mad with all of the preparations. And if she wasn't occupied with Amber and the party plans, Sofia would either be busy James and his issues.

Following the night of James's outburst and the fight that came with it, Sofia remembered how, after holding and hugging her, James promised to open up to her as much as he can so he can prove to her that he is indeed changing. And while she does remember that, the only thing that continues to run ramped in her mind was how James held her so close to him. Somehow, she was still able to feel his warmth and heat, and how his hot breath still brushed against her neck as he pressed her tighter against him.

Since their discussion, Sofia found that James has been plaguing her thoughts. She was unable to think of anything else but how perfect James's body felt against hers. It was like this was the first time she was fully able to feel it. And now, James's appearance to her seems different somehow, like he suddenly grew incredibly handsome in her eyes.

And for a reason she still didn't understand, she would continue to find herself wanting to be back in his arms. To feel him so close to her that she could feel how warm his body was against hers. She wanted to feel the safety and gentleness of his arms around her body, like she was some precious gem to him, and stay there until she memorized every muscle of his body. Sofia understood that she wanted something more out of their embrace, but what exactly that was, she didn't know.

_Why does my heart beat so fast when I'm thinking about him and being in his arms?_ Sofia thought as she laid on her bed. _For crying out loud, this is James! My stepbrother! My brother! I shouldn't be feeling like this. Why am I even feeling like this? I just don't get it. He's family. I shouldn't even be noticing his body like that. So why am I?_

During their walks and time together, as James tried his best to open up to her, Sofia would become all too aware of him next to her and she would find herself too quiet or stiff around him. She would hear him talk right beside her and she would try to remain in their conversation, but she would only find her mind wander back on James and his handsomeness. She didn't understand why she became so frazzled around him. Her heart would beat all too fast and she would always feel her cheeks grow hot. She just didn't understand it.

_Why do I even blush so hard whenever I'm around him? Why does his presence alone make me become so frazzled? I just want someone to explain this all to me!_

All too deep in her thoughts and confused feelings, Sofia didn't hear the several knocks at her bedroom's door until Amber barged through along with their guards.

"Sofia! I've been knocking on your door several times now, why didn't you answer back?" Amber asked as she briskly walked towards her. Behind her, both Cyrus and Edward held relatively large boxes.

"Sorry about that, I was just lost in thought." Sofia immediately propped herself onto her elbows and watched as Amber had their guards place the two large boxes on the floor near her table. Next Amber took out papers from the boxes and put them all onto the table in her sitting quarters. _Well, there goes my ten minutes of silence._

"Well, since you're up now. Can you help me review who exactly responded to our invitations and agreed to come?"

"Didn't we do that like a week ago?" Sofia asked as she walked over to her sister.

"Yes we did, but we just recently got some late replies," Amber said as she waved around a white quill pen. "Really, now. It's been only five years since we've all been at Royal Prep, how can they have forgotten the royal protocol to respond to an invitation within a reasonable amount of time." Amber then sat down with an irritated huff.

Sympathetically nodding to Amber, Sofia just sat down and agreed to help her sister. And for long hours, the two princesses and their personal guards sat around and sorted through the invitations. With tea and late afternoon snacks, they managed to finish just before dinner time.

"Well, it looks like it's only Prince Hugo that hasn't responded to our invitation. Everyone else said yes," Amber said as she looked over her long list of guests and attendees. "That's a shame. Now our little reunion would feel a little incomplete."

"You invited Prince Hugo?" Cyrus asked with surprised eyes.

"Yes," Amber said with a sip of her warm tea. "Our Royal Prep class was a bit on the small side, so I just invited everyone. Why?"

"You haven't heard?" Edward said as he tried to neatly stack the pile of replies back into its proper box.

"Heard what?" Sofia asked.

"Prince Hugo has disappeared," Edward replied.

"What?" both princesses said, astonished.

Nodding, Edward continued on. "Shortly after your exile, King James returned back to Royal Prep and took command of the academy. From there, he had Cedric create a powerful force field around the school so that no one got in or out. He then announced that every prince and princess be returned back to their respective kingdoms and expected them to hand over their kingdom's deeds to him. Prince Hugo and Prince Zandar were the only ones that tried to fight against King James's command and failed."

"Oh my gosh," Amber gasped.

Solemnly nodding, he went on. "Angered by his retaliation, King James had Prince Hugo's kingdom of Albuquerque to be conquered first. His kingdom was the only one who was able to put up a powerful fight against King James. Their battle lasted for months on end until King James tried a dirty tactic and had his father assassinated. Albuquerque lost their king and was short on weapons and soldiers, so Prince Hugo's older brother, now King Axel, heavy-heartedly handed over their kingdom's deed. But, on the night that King Axel was signing over his kingdom to King James, Prince Hugo disappeared. No one had heard or seen him since."

"Wait, why did he disappear? Did he leave anything as to explain why?" Sofia hastily asked, wanting to know why her old Flying Derby partner would disappear like that.

"He did but King James burned his note," Cyrus said with a hard and heavy tone.

"Cyrus?" Looking over at him now, Sofia saw how quiet and guarded Cyrus looked. His brows were furrowed and angry looking, his lips here in a tight line and she would see how hard set his jaw was.

"Prince Hugo left a note stating that he didn't want to be under the rule of a ruthless and evil king. So he decided to leave his kingdom and find a way to stop King James." When Cyrus looked over at Sofia, she saw a fire within his eyes and was almost taken away by the fury and passion that danced in his hazel eyes.

"How do you know if James burned Hugo's note?" Amber asked curiously.

"My father was Hugo's father's top knight. We became friends whenever I would visit his kingdom."

"Wait, then why are you here?" Amber asked.

"My father had me sent to the top military school when I was only 13, and well, that was here."

"That still doesn't answer the question on how you knew the contents of Hugo's note." Sofia asked suspiciously.

"We were there," Edward answered for him. "Cyrus and I were there when Prince Hugo's note was found. We witnessed how one of his guards read aloud his note and were ordered to burn it."

Edward tried to continue on and answer more of their questions, but Sofia just continued to watch Cyrus and his behavior. It was as if their conversation about Hugo and his disappearance hit a nerve in Cyrus.

But it was how the fury and anger that danced in his eyes that captivated her the most. It was all too familiar to her, like there was a distant memory in her mind that Cyrus's eyes reminded her of. She just couldn't place her finger on it. No matter how hard she tried.

Sofia was certain that Cyrus's eyes reminded her of something…. No, wait. Someone.

But just as she was about to delve deeper into her mental searching, Sofia heard Amber began to speak.

Obviously not wanting a heavy silence to befall them, Amber tried to change the subject back to the invitations and brought Sofia back from her deep thought again. "Well, enough for today. All but one of our good friends from Royal Prep agreed to attend, so I guess that's it for today."

_Friends…_ the word rang in Sofia's thought. _Good friends…. Best friends…. Ruby! Jade! Lucinda!_

Sofia jumped up from her seat and stood with a horrified look. "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot about Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda! Amber, we need to get invitations to them!"

"Ruby…? Jade…? Lucinda…? Oh my gosh! How did I forget about them!" Amber replied with the same shocked look. "Do we have anymore invitations? I know we had at least ten more made as a precaution." She began to rummage round in the box that held the invitations.

"I don't know, but do you think there would be enough time to get it mailed to them?"

"I don't think so." Amber replied sadly as she continued to look through the box. "Do you think the coachman would be fast enough?"

"No, James is in charge of that and you know how long it takes for us to convince him to let us use the carriage."

Ever since their last argument, Sofia made sure that he knew of their conditions as an attempt to prevent any more massive explosions. Spending almost an entire day, Sofia and Amber both drew up a list detailing what he can and can't do to them. With only as much as they could think of, they gave him a short list. Down on paper, the two of them stated that James must try to control his anger and not yell at them. He can't order them to do anything. The three of them stand as equals. He can't use their mother or anyone close against them. And lastly, they have the freedom to add more conditions as they see fit.

And with that, James added only one for himself. Sofia can't leave the castle grounds without telling him.

It shocked her to hear this but she could see from his point of view somehow. Sofia couldn't explain it but she understood why he wanted it. He was just afraid of losing her so suddenly and she knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it if she was just gone like that.

And following his one condition, Amber and Sofia would both have long negotiations with James in order for him to allow them to use the carriages and coachmen. They were only allowed to mail things and have their items shipped back and forth. It was only Sofia that wasn't allowed to actually go out in the carriages.

Slumping in defeat, Amber tried hard to hide her sad tone. "Then, I don't know what to do…. The coachmen won't be fast enough if we would have to go through James first. Mailing it won't be fast enough either."

Sofia couldn't believe it. Since returning back to Enchancia after five long and hard years, she forgot all about her three best friends from the village and was about to have her first ball back at the castle without them.

Sofia felt hard tears pooling at her eyes.

But just as they were about to freely fall down her cheeks, she felt strong hands on her shoulders. Looking up, she saw that Cyrus was standing in front of her, smiling supportively as he handed her one of his handkerchiefs. "Hey, hey. It's going to be okay."

"No it's not." Amber said, her voice thick and strained from trying to keep her tears at bay. Beside her sister, Sofia saw Edward kneeling down and handing her a handkerchief too. "Sofia and I both forgot about our friends from the village and now we're going to host a party without them."

"Well, it's not you would have been able to get them into the castle anyway," Edward said somberly. "King James forbids any commoners from entering the castle unless they are part of the staff."

"Wait why? Our father always kept the palace open to everyone." Sofia was confused by what she heard. She thought that James kept all of their father's laws and protocols, why would James change this one?

"Sadly we don't know, Sofia." Cyrus answered back as he wiped one of her tears.

Suddenly, Sofia didn't know what overcame her. Maybe it was the frustration or what, but then she just stood tall and marched towards the door. "Well, since we know that James isn't going to give us the carriage in time and have the coachmen hand our invitations to Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda. Why don't we do it ourselves?"

"What?" All three of them gaped at her.

Sofia ignored their collective gasp and marched towards the door, determined to make it past the palace front doors and into the village.

"Sofia, wait!" Amber jumped up from her seat and held her back. "Think this through first before jumping head first."

"I agree with Amber here, Sofia." Cyrus said as he ran in front of Sofia and blocked her from the door. "What were you even planning? Just go out, hand the invitations to them, and face King James's fury again?"

"Not if he's going to find out. I'm planning to sneak out."

"But Sofia, it's still light out," Edward said, standing beside Cyrus as another door block.

"Look, Sofia," Amber said as she turned Sofia around to face her. "I kind of agree with your plan here but you need to let us help you to iron this out so there can't be any holes in it. Okay? I don't want you to go through with this plan and have it backfire on you."

"Wait, you agree with Sofia?" Cyrus exclaimed aghast, looking at both Sofia and Amber like they've lost their minds.

"Well, kind of." Amber shrugged. "I've never agreed to James's stupid laws and whatnot. Really, I've never agreed with James at all. So I kind of like that Sofia wants to rebel a little and try to find a sneaky way around James. It'll do her some good to be bad once in a while."

Here, Sofia saw both Cyrus and Edward look stunned and stood there with their mouths open.

"So, Sofia, tell me your plan," Amber said, ignoring the guards' shocked expressions.

"I was just thinking on sneaking out on one of the flying horses and give the invites to Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda. I was just going to wing this entire plan, really."

"Okay, bad idea to wing it," Amber said, matter-of-factly.

Behind her, Sofia could hear Cyrus scoff, "that's not the only bad idea here."

Glaring at him, Amber continued on. "I like that you plan on using the flying horses, less noise than a carriage. A couple flaws though, what if James tries to find you while you're gone?"

"I don't know…."

Biting her lips, Amber asked, "what time were you planning on doing this?"

"Like right now."

"Bad. It'd be best if you did this tomorrow night, when he's asleep. That would give us all enough time to get everything ready for your sneak out. Duh," Amber poked at Sofia's forehead. "Now are you going alone or what?"

"Oh, she is not going into the village at night all alone," Cyrus interrupted. He stepped forward and looked down at the both of them. Sofia could see the determination in his eyes, telling her that he isn't taking "no" for an answer. "I'm going with you, Sofia. I can't let you just go out there at night all alone when I'm your personal guard. Amber, you and Edward stay back and try to distract James if he does wake up late in the night and tries to find Sofia."

Sofia saw that Amber was taken aback for a moment, but then she recognized a small, knowing and secretive smile grew on her lips. Nodding her agreement, Amber turned to Sofia and asked, "so what do you think about this plan? We cleared it all out and made your plan almost foolproof."

Smiling at all of their help, Sofia said happily, "I love the plan. We'll start the plan later tomorrow night, after my and James's nightly tea."

And with that, Sofia and everyone patiently waited until it was time for their plan to commence tomorrow night. In the meantime, Sofia had Amber prepare the extra invitations for their village friends and their guards chose and prepare the two flying horses for their fast trip while Sofia had her usual after dinner tea with James. Sofia was sitting in James's personal study room talking and trying to think through with her plans, rebellious excitement running through her.

Originally, their post-dinner tea time was held in the family room and Amber was a part of it, but after his massive fight with Cyrus, James persuaded Sofia to personally have tea with him in his study room.

Looking around, it was a simple room that held a massive book collection and a large oak desk by the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the far back corner of the room, on the left side of his windows, there was a locked door. With a large leather sofa and several loveseats seated in front of the fireplace, James's personal study room was cozy and warm even though it was located far down the dark hallways that occupied their bedrooms.

Being in there with only James, Sofia couldn't help but feel a closeness and personal companionship with him. It was like she was the only person that he allowed into his world and that made her feel special and… loved. Like, he would only let his walls down in front of her and allowed himself to be vulnerable with her.

Sofia even remembers, at one of their cave meetings, that Baileywick mentioned how no one was allowed into James's personal study. Not even the maids or even Baileywick. It was forbidden for anyone to even come close to it.

And for Sofia to even make it that far as to have tea in there meant that she was making a breakthrough with him. Since returning, Sofia had never seen Baileywick that happy at any of the news Sofia would bring in regards to saving James. He was nearly jumping up and down from happiness.

It was in this room that, for some reason, Sofia was able to release all of her nervousness and awkwardness whenever she was around James. Somehow, she was able to relax and allow the coziness of the room to calm her down.

And, as for James, she noticed how he was able to open up better in this room. He managed to tell her his feelings and how alone he felt for so long, but at the same time, she knew he was holding back something. But Sofia was more than determined to find out just what he was hiding from her.

That is, after her plan was finished and she managed to successfully give her friends their invitations to the ball.

"Sofia?" she heard James's voice ripple through her thoughts as she was running through her plans for tomorrow night.

"Yes?" she replied, looking over at James, who sat at beside her on his leather sofa.

"Is everything alright? You seem to be deep in thought." James turned his body so that he was facing her.

"Oh…," Sofia said, trying to think of a quick excuse. "Well… I… er… heard… um… today that you forbid any commoners to enter the castle. Is that true?" Sofia surprised herself at how earnest her excuse turned out. She looked at James, actually wanting to hear his answer.

"Yes… it is."

"Why did you lock the gates, James?"

"Honestly?" James looked at Sofia in the eyes and she could see the raw and pure emotions that only this room can produce out of him. "Shortly after _that night_, everything in the kingdom was in chaos and everyone was trying to get into the castle to demand answers. I couldn't take it, so I just locked the gates and forbid anyone from entering unless they were staff members. In those early years, I just wanted to be left alone."

Sofia noticed how hard he clenched his hands; it was to the point where his knuckles were turning white. Gently reaching out, she reached out her hands and made him hold onto her hands instead. In recent days, Sofia found that, whenever James was reminiscing about a painful memory, if he was just holding onto her, then it made the pain lessen for him. Sometimes, he would refuse to let go and, then, it would take a stern warning from her to make him release her.

"Can you somehow revoke that rule, James?"

"No! I can't!" James cried out. Now she saw the fear echo through his eyes.

"Okay, okay. James just try to tell me why you can't." Sofia tried to soothe him back down, gently rubbing the back of his hands with her other free hand. She could feel how tightly he gripped her right hand.

"If I open the gate, then the people will try to get in and demand answers that I can't give. I don't want that. I can't explain to them what happened _that night_ when I don't understand it myself." James explained, falling towards Sofia and resting his head on her shoulder.

Since having their personal tea time together, Sofia couldn't help but notice how much more James has been touching her. Every now and then, he would reach out and kiss her knuckles or just twist her strands of her hair between his fingers.

And admitting this only to herself, Sofia began to like it. She liked feeling the closeness and how hot his breath was against her whenever he would lean in close to her. Like right now, when his nose and lips were so close to her that she felt his warmth against her skin.

It was like each one of his touches left searing marks all over her. Sofia could remember how soft his lips felt on the back of her hands and how much she wanted to lean into him as he stroked her hair or cheek. Sofia even found herself wanting more from him, but each time, he would lean away and cut short their skin contact.

She didn't understand when she became so needy for his touch nor did she really wanted to understand it in moments like this, when it was only the two of them. The only thing she really understood was that she wanted it more than anything whenever she was in his presence. She wanted to feel his hands all over her body and savor his touches. She to feel his kisses not on her hands or cheeks, she wanted it on her lips so that she could deepen them into something passionate.

_Oh my gosh! What am I thinking! That's James for crying out loud. Your stepbrother! It's not natural for a sister to feel like this! You can't think of kissing him like that!_

_Wait, what does it mean if I want to kiss him and have him embrace me like that? Mom always said that the moment she knew that she had feelings for dad was when all she could think about was to kiss him. Does that mean I have feelings for him? Have all I've been thinking about was to kiss him? If I'm being honest here, I do stare at his lips a lot. But then, I stare at his body too._

_Do I have feelings for him? I mean, I care for him like a brother... Right?_

_No, it's more than that. But what?_

_Thinking over my feelings, I know that I like James for more than his body. I like that he treats me special and looks at me like I'm something more. I always see that there's some sort of light in his eyes whenever it is only the two of us. He only smiles honestly at me and laughs hard with me. Am I being selfish if I say I'm happy that it's only between us and that I'm the only person that gets to see him like that? Is it selfish to only want him to continue to make me feel like I'm something special to him and be around me? Does that mean I have feelings for him?_

_Following Mom's theory, if always thinking about kissing him meant she knew she had feelings for him. Does actually kissing him mean you'll know for sure? If you like the kiss, you'll know. Right?_

And that thought alone made her heart beat erratically. She was certain, with his closeness, that he could somehow hear her heart beating like a hummingbird.

But something in her made her not care. She just wanted to test out her theory.

"James?" Sofia quietly asked, realizing how long she and James were seated like that in a peaceful silence.

_Okay, this will just be simple. If I like the kiss, I have feelings for him. If I don't, then he's nothing more than a brother to me._

"Hmm?" He responded, like he was close to sleepiness.

_Oh, good. If he's a little sleepy, then maybe I can use that as a way to pretend that he just dreamt the kiss or something if this kiss goes bad._

"Can you… look up…. Please?" Sofia squeaked out, her heart beating at the top of her throat.

"Hmm?" he responded again as he began to raise his head up.

Almost immediately, the moment she saw his lips in front of her face, Sofia closed her eyes and plunged forward. She pressed her lips against his, wanting to find her answer in this kiss between them.

And, to her surprise, she found that she liked the kiss. It was sweet and tender at the save time. She felt small shots of electricity as her lips touch his, starting from the kiss and running down her spin. She was able to examine how James's lips were perfectly soft and gentle. She could certainly feel his surprise at how forward she was being, forcing a kiss on him like that.

And at the back of her mind, she thought, _what if James doesn't want this kiss? Oh my gosh! Then I would have forced a kiss on him and he would hate me!_

Despite how much she liked the kiss, Sofia began to pull away.

But then, she heard James growl beneath her lips.

"Oh no you don't," she heard him grunt and began to crush his lips onto hers. And soon, their sweet and tame kiss became savory and passionate. There was an excitement that ran through her body and made her ache for the kiss to grow into something else.

He pressed hard and she could feel the wanting that came from him. There was this desperation and deep need that came from his kiss, like he didn't want their kiss to end. And Sofia felt it herself. She wanted this kiss to last forever, even if it was an experiment to see if she had any feelings for James. She wanted more than anything to just remain in his arms and continue this blissful kiss.

Sofia felt him open his mouth and ran his tongue across her teeth, motioning for her to open her mouth too and allowing him access into her mouth. He began to deepen it to an extent that she knew that she could never achieve. Sofia felt their tongues began to dance together and explore each other's mouths. Soon, Sofia began to grow bold and ran it over the roof of his mouth and began to tease him by running it over the top of his tongue.

Sofia smiled against their kiss at hearing a low and deep moan come from James and how it rumbled through their kiss.

Sofia felt his arms wrap around her waist and pulled her so close to him that she was now straddling his lap. With her arms around his neck and running her hands in his soft blonde hair, Sofia pressed herself even harder against his body. And she felt how positively James reacted to how hard she pressed herself against him. His hands reached downward and held tight onto her hips, crushing her even harder to him.

All that was heard in his silent study was their heavy breathing and desperate, long awaited kissing.

As close as she could get to him, Sofia felt an ache come from deep within. She wanted something more out of this kiss, but she couldn't place it.

But her mind soon went blank when she felt James's muscular hands began to roam all along her back and run up into her hair. She began to shiver at how much pleasure it gave her to feel James's hands touch her. Mentally, she was happy that she just let her hair down today and refused to allow Amber to curl or style it. Sofia was certain that he was messing with her hair and disheveling it.

To her dismay, James was the first to break their kiss. Sofia instinctively tried to lean back in and continue their kiss like it never stopped. She was surprised at herself, just one kiss and already she wanted more; it was like his kisses were a delicious dessert and she craved more of it. She wanted more of his kisses and touches.

But James leaned back and just kissed her nose instead. And Sofia could tell that both just need to calm down and try to regain their breathing. Neither one of them was able to speak and could only continue to breath heavily.

After several minutes of just leaning their foreheads together and trying to relax their breathing, James was the first to speak. "Sofia, please tell me this isn't a dream."

Sofia liked how hoarse his voice sounded, like he was as much affected by their kiss as she was.

And remembering her original plan to just tell him that he dreamt this kiss if she found herself disliking the kiss, all Sofia could do was laugh and plant a small kiss on his lips. "No, James. This isn't a dream."

James broke out into an ecstatic and almost childish smile, pulling Sofia into another hot and heavy kiss. But Sofia was disappointed to feel that the kiss was broken short and she almost grumbled for James to return his lips back to her.

"Hell, Sofia. You don't know how long I've wanted to kiss you. It drove me crazy to hold back every day and try to restrain myself. I honestly thought that I would be the one to do it first and kiss you like that just now," James admitted, bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks. Sofia saw how glazed his eyes were and she was more than certain that hers were too.

Sofia let out a small and bubbly laugh, "well to be honest, this was just a test of mine to see if I had any feelings for you." She reached up and tentatively touched her lips, feeling how swollen they were.

"Test?" James asked, gently placing a small feather of a kiss on her fingers that touched her lips.

"In my head, I thought that since I kept on thinking about kissing you to why not just test it out. It was all to see if I have feelings for you or not," Sofia explained.

James laughed a little at her explanation. "Well, you always were a logical and rational girl."

Laughing back at him, Sofia leaned back down and began to kiss again before James broke it with a pained and aggravated groan.

"Sofia, please," she heard him say, his tone heavy and hoarse. "I can't continue on like this if I don't know. Tell me what were the results of your test, please."

Sofia could hear the heavy and deep meaning of his question. It was like something in James wanted more than anything to hear just what Sofia had to say about her feelings for James. She saw in his eyes and heard in his voice how much he cared for her. He loved her and wanted _only_ her. She felt his feelings for her in that first kiss.

And Sofia knew right there. She understood her confusion now. Sofia had feelings for James.

Letting out another laugh, Sofia kissed him again. "James, if that first kiss wasn't clear enough for you, I guess I'm just going to have to say it aloud for you_. I have feelings for you_."

Sofia watched as her words sank into him. She saw how wide his eyes grew and could only begin to laugh. Soon a large smile began to form on his lips and then he was smiling like she's never seen him do before, James happily held onto her cheeks again and resumed to kiss her like crazy. Sofia continued to laugh and reached up to hold his hands on her cheeks. And in between his kisses, all she heard was him call out her name.

But suddenly, James pulled back and looked at her with a raised brow. "Wait. Was that your first kiss?"

"My first kiss?" Sofia asked confused.

Thinking it over, realization began to dawn on her as she started to understand what James was asking her.

_Oh my gosh! I was so into my theory and experiment that I didn't realize that it was my first kiss I was going to put into my test!_

Sofia felt her cheeks grow hot and immediately put her face into her hands in hopes to hide it from James. "Yeah, that was my first kiss…," she groaned, mortified at how she executed _her_ first kiss and how forceful she was with _their_ first kiss together.

She then felt James began to pull her hands away from her face and looked worryingly at her. "Do you regret it? Did you hate your first kiss?"

Looking at him, Sofia saw how much worry and fear ran through his eyes and tone. It was like he was afraid that she just might have changed her feelings for him already. In some way, she kind of saw him like a small puppy that was about to be put out for being bad. It almost made her laugh, but she knew she couldn't do that to him right now.

"No, silly," Sofia said with a smile. "I wouldn't have continued to kiss you like that if I hated my first kiss."

Smiling happily again like a puppy that got a treat, he returned back to kissing her full and hard. And the rest of the night, Sofia remained in James's study, happy in his arms as she drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* * *

Chapter nine! Whoo!

Again, I would like to thank all of those that read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this little story of mine. And much thanks to everyone that fave and followed me as an author. I would continue on about all of the thanks and shoutouts that are due to everyone, but then I would just be blabbing on and on. So, I'm just going to cut it short here.

I'm sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter. I got sick and with that came writer's block. But, I'm all better now and I'm almost halfway done with chapter ten. Did you guys liked how I set up their first kiss? Whoo! Our girl made the first move! Like always, tell me what and who are you excited to see in the next chapter.

Read and review because the reviews make me happy.

Thanks :)

PS: I'm sorry, everyone. There seems to be a problem with chapter nine. Some people have been messaging me that they haven't been able to read and access the chapter. In my account, it says that chapter nine was published but the story still wasn't updated. So one of my solutions was to just completely delete chapter nine and just reupload it. So I'm sorry if you all keep getting emails about me releasing chapter nine. If you've already read it, then just ignore it. Until then, I'm just gonna keep on trying to figure out what's going on. Thank you for understanding.


	10. Chapter 10

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 10: Those Three Words**

_**Sofia**_

Sofia felt something gentle, warm cling around her as she slowly woke up. She could hear herself let out a low and small groan as she tried to regain her senses after such a good and restful sleep. Slowly she realized that she was pressed between something cool and smooth and a warm chest, she could feel arms wrapped tightly around her waist and there was a low, calm hum of breathing that wasn't her own.

As her eyes finally began to settle, Sofia looked up and was nearly startled out of her skin when she saw James's sleeping face above hers.

_What the – wait, why is James sleeping so close to me? Where am I? _Sofia's thoughts rambled, confused as to what is going on. Her body immediately stiffened and she tried not to move a single muscle despite how loud and fast her heart was beating.

Sofia took in how intimately they were positioned. Her back was against the dark couch while her front was pressed against James's chest; both of their legs were intertwined and tangled around each other. So close to him, Sofia found herself surrounded by his masculine and musky cologne. Both of her hands rested on his rising and falling chest as her head was on top of his right bicep and James's head rested on top of the sofa's armrest. Being so tall, James wasn't able to lay and fit entirely on the large couch while Sofia could.

Looking around, Sofia saw large bookcases and a fireplace behind James. Her mind was just calm enough to register that she was in James's private study and was lying on his soft, leather couch. _Why am I not in my room? Oh my gosh, what happened last night? _

And then the events of last night began to run through her mind and her nerves just slightly relaxed. _Oh that's right. We kissed and ended up falling asleep in his study, _Sofia calmed as the echoes of their kiss now returned to her lips.

Reaching up to touch her mouth, Sofia could still feel how powerful James's pressure on her lips were last night and it brought a slight blush to her cheeks. She remembered how tightly she clung to him, and he to her, as their kiss progressed into the night. Of how she felt like they were never close enough as to where the ache in her was satisfied.

If Sofia was to close her eyes right now, she could still feel the burning of his lips on hers. How sweet and passionate their kiss seared her and swelled her mouth. That, despite how gentle he was in the beginning, their kiss turned all too wistful and heavy.

And Sofia liked it... she craved more of it.

She could still recall feeling James's need and desperation in his lips as their tongues danced with each other. She always felt a certain safety whenever she was in his arms, but this time, there was a wanting and desire exuding from him that she liked. It made her feel wanted and loved, that she was so much more to him than a sister. The way he held onto her at this moment, how both of his arms held so tightly onto her like he was afraid that she might disappear if he didn't, comforted and exhilarated her at the same time.

Lowering her cheek back against his chest, Sofia gazed up at James and his sleeping face. His eyelashes were long, longer than hers really. His cheeks kind of had a pinkish hue to them, giving him the appearance of a child even. He looked young again, as if he didn't have a care in the world. His worry lines were gone… his face was relaxed… it was almost like he regained his youthfulness. She couldn't help but notice how, during the day, his face is so controlled and guarded whenever he was surrounded by others. Sometimes, his smiles, even when it was only the two of them, can be reserved and cautious. But, asleep, his expression was serene and peaceful; nothing like how it usually is throughout the day.

This was what she wanted to see out of James: this youthful, carefree expression. This was her James.

Sofia's eyes then wandered down to his lips, the same ones that kissed and burned her lips last night. And very gently so that he wouldn't wake, she reached out and touched them.

In the back of her mind, she remembers how soft and hungry his lips devoured hers, as if he used everything in him to possess her lips. But she also recalled how something in their kiss told her that he wanted something more out of it, just like her… but Sofia couldn't place as to exactly what that "something" was. She wanted so badly to know what it is but she just can't figure it out. At least, not yet she hoped.

All she knew right now was that their kiss was good. And it changed everything.

_Sofia…. _

_What?_ Sofia thought as she looked around the room again for the source of the mysterious voice. It sounded like it was in her head, but she wasn't sure.

_Sofia…. I need your help…. _

_Why am I hearing… a woman's voice? It sounds… lonely and sad, like it's been alone for so long_. Sofia would have continued her train of thought if it wasn't for James's subtle kiss on her fingertips.

"James! Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Sofia quietly exclaimed as she began to pull her fingers away from his lips, embarrassed that she was caught touching him in his sleep. But James quickly grasped her hand before she could pull away.

Sleepily smiling at her, he continued to plant kisses on her fingertips. "No, it's alright. I don't mind being woken up by you at all."

Blushing, she didn't know how to respond back and simply just looked back down so she could try to hide her reddened cheeks.

"Hell, I would rather have you as my morning wakeup call instead of Baileywick," James continued on. Sofia could hear it in his voice that his smile widened as her face grew hotter.

"James!" she exclaimed, lightly smacking his shoulder with the same hand that he held onto earlier. She continued to repeat her small attacks on him as he laughed loudly at her embarrassment.

"Okay, okay," James laughed with his left hand up in surrender. "I was just kidding, Sof."

But Sofia didn't forgive him that easily; she just pouted and looked away.

"Okay, okay," James repeated. She then felt warm fingers below her chin as they lifted her head so that she was looking at him. "I'm sorry for laughing and being mean. Forgive me?"

Not even waiting for a reply, he lowered his head and gently laid a light kiss on her lips. And like last night, the small kiss soon caught fire and Sofia felt it erupt inside them both.

After several minutes of grabbing and grasping at each other, needing to feel the closeness of one another, Sofia was the one to break the kiss between them so that they can find their breaths again. Pulling away and looking down at him, she didn't even realize that she was now laying mounted on top of James. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and crushed her to him like she was lighter than air and he wanted to keep her from flying away.

Now deprived of the warmth of his lips, Sofia already found herself wanting to return to them and kiss him all over again. _Oh, crud. I think I'm getting addicted to his kisses._

"James," Sofia said breathlessly, "I think it is best if I go back to my room before anyone sees me."

"Why?" James pouted, looking like a child that just got told that playtime was over and he needed to return back inside. She saw him gaze over at the clock behind her and continued to whine and pout at her. "It's only four o'clock. We still have about an hour to continue kissing!"

"Because, James, how would it look to the staff and Amber if I just walked out of here with disheveled hair and wearing the same gown from yesterday?" she pointed out to him with a giggle and raised eye. Sofia tried to get off of James, but his strong arms kept her locked in place. _He's being stubborn and doesn't want to let me go. _

"I don't care," James continued to pout. "At least, then people will know that we're together now and that stupid Cyrus guy won't try to touch you."

_Together now…_ the words echoed in her head, bring with it a feeling of… anxiety? Distress? _Wait, why does that make me feel upset?_

"No, James. People can't know that we're together."

"Why?"

"Well for one, we're stepsiblings," she squeaked jokingly, hoping that James couldn't see her distress.

"So?"

"_So_, James –"

_Why am I trying so hard to fight this? If people knew, shouldn't I feel happy enough to fight for whatever feelings I found for James? _

"Sofia, my great-great grandfather married his cousin and my great uncle even courted his own stepsister," James said quickly, cutting her off from whatever lame excuse she was trying to think up of. "Almost all royal families marry and court one another within the family, it's no big deal. It's not as common these days, but it's still in practice."

Sofia could hear the desperation and hope in his voice, telling her that James somehow believed this made their relationship okay…. The look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, the way he looked at her like he couldn't believe that she was in his arms right now, it made her chest feel too tight. _Don't I want it to be okay? Shouldn't I want it?_

Sofia knew that James was only saying this to ease her nerves, and it should. Shouldn't it? _We're stepsiblings and this was what I was so worried about before. So why isn't it calming me down to know that royals sometime marry and court within the family? Wait, why is he even talking about courting and marriage? _

"Sofia –"

"James, I... I just... want to help you become a better king before we tell anyone about this okay?" Sofia cut him off this time. "My main priority is to help you get better so that you can be a better king to all of Enchancia and that your subjects won't fear you as much. So can you promise me that you won't tell anyone about any of this until you establish yourself as a greater and mightier king?"

There was a small moment of silence as Sofia looked back at a silent James with pleading eyes, hoping that he would understand and not try to tell anyone about their newly found relationship.

"Mmm… okay." James said with a small smile.

"Thank you, James." Sofia smiled back at him as she lowered her head back down to rest her chin on her hands that lay on top of James's chest. "As a reward for being so cooperative, I'll stay here for a few more minutes." She teased, hoping to remove some of the heavy atmosphere that developed between them.

Sofia saw James only give her a small smile and just laid his head back down and stared up at the ceiling like he was in deep thought as she remained on top of him, playing with his messy blonde hair.

_This is fine. If things just stay like this, then I'm fine with it. I don't need people to know about my relationship with James. I just need it to be like this and I can be happy... Right?_

But after several minutes of comfortable silence between them, James broke it.

"Sofia?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

And with those words now hanging out in the air between them, Sofia was shocked to her core. She didn't know what to say or do; she just remained still like a frozen statue on top of James. She was certain that her eyes must have been bulging out of her sockets and her mouth was open wide.

"I know that this may be a bit early to say to you, but I just want you to know that I love you. So much."

_Why are you saying this James? You-you're moving too fast! _

"James –" Sofia tried, her chest feeling like someone tied her corset too tight. She was having a hard time breathing, like this room was closing in on her.

_You're moving this relationship too fast! I can't hear this right now! _

"I love you, Sofia. More than anyone in this castle or kingdom or world. I love you beyond any feelings of a stepbrother or even friend."

_No, wait! James, don't say anything else! _

"James –" Her heart was beating too fast. She needed to get out, find some air and try to breathe again.

"Sof, I love you."

And without another word, Sofia ran out of the study.

_Why am I running? I should be happy that he said that, shouldn't I? I just found my feelings for him, so I must be happy that he loves me._ Sofia thought as she felt hot tears run down her cheeks. Her chest felt tight and her heartbeat was running at a rapid pace. _I don't get it, why am I upset that he told me the three words every girl wants to hear? I found my feelings for him! So why am I not happy?! Doesn't finding your feelings mean you're in love?!_

_No, it doesn't, _her mind said the moment she barged through her room and locked it behind her. Her mind's voice hit her like a million rocks and made her legs grow weak. Sofia then fell to the floor, hugging herself. _You know that you have feelings for him, but you don't know if you are in love with him. Yes, you have feelings for him that run deeper than a stepsister's should but can you truly and madly fall in love with him and love him the way he loves you?_

_I… don't… know…_ Sofia answered back with deep despair.

And all day, Sofia locked herself in her room. She refused to open it to anyone, no matter how hard they banged on her door and demanded it to be opened. She was self-sufficient enough to not even open it up when her maids called out to her so that they can clean her up and dress her for the day.

First it was James that called out to her, begging her to open the door and talk to him. She could hear the heart wrenching sadness that coated each word of his. And despite how much she wanted to open it for him and fall into his safe arms, Sofia knew that she couldn't face him. Not yet. His yells and loud bangs at her door were so loud that it woke up everyone in the castle.

And soon, Amber, Baileywick, and their guards were at her door.

Amber was the first of everyone to arrive at her door, asking as to why James was pounding on her door. And when Sofia refused to even open it to her sister, Amber angrily yelled at James as to what he did to her. Soon, an angry argument burst between the twins that later consumed even levelheaded Baileywick and the two guards.

The fighting continued well into the afternoon, it got so loud that Sofia couldn't take it anymore and yelled back at them all. "Please! Just leave me alone! It's not James's fault!" Sofia cried, not wanting to hint at what happened moments earlier in his study and have all of the blame on him. "I-I just need a moment to myself!"

"Sofia! It's Amber! Please, just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

"No! I just want to be by myself right now."

"But –" Amber tried to say before being cut off by James.

"Sofia, let me in! Please!" James yelled.

"I'm fine really! Just let me have a moment to myself!"

"Sofia!" everyone began to cry out at her. James, Amber, Cyrus, Edward, each one of them began to yell and try to get her out of her room all at once. Sofia tried to cover her ears with her hands, wanting to silence them all and muffle their calls.

"I think it's best if we honor Princess Sofia's wish," Baileywick said, the only calm and collected voice that broke through everyone's yells. "It seems that she just needs a moment to cool down."

"Yes! Thank you, Baileywick," Sofia called through the door, hoping that everyone could just leave. She knew that Amber meant well, but nothing Amber could say or do would help with what she was feeling at the moment.

"Just ring for me if you need anything, Princess Sofia," Baileywick said to her through her door.

It was past lunchtime when she heard the shuffling of footsteps, telling her that everyone finally left. And finally alone in the silence, Sofia slumped back against the door. Hugging her legs, she buried her head in between her knees, silently crying to herself.

_I'm so confused…. I wish Mom was here, she would know what to say. Or anyone else. Someone different that knows what I'm feeling right now. Anyone that can tell me what exactly that I'm feeling. I wish Ruby and Jade and Lucinda were here to help me figure it all out…._

_I can't be in this castle right now. I've been in here since I've returned and I haven't been off of castle grounds in over two months! It's all so suffocating! The pressures and stress of trying to save James has all been so crazy! I need to get out... I need to find someone, anyone that can help me. I just need to go and breathe in air somewhere, anywhere that isn't on this castle where people keep taking care of my every needs! I just need to - _

Sofia then heard a little squeak beside her. "Are you alright missy?"

"What?" Wiping her eyes and looking down, she saw a little white baby bunny at her side.

"You have a lot of tears in your eyes, you know. Were you crying?"

"Yeah…" Sofia said with a lump in her throat.

The bunny's small ears had a tiny shading of brown at the tip, some other streaks of brown specked around its paws and tail. He had matching big brown eyes that gave him an innocent and warm appearance.

"Why?" the bunny said with concern as it brushed its head against her leg.

"I ran away from someone who told me he loves me because I found out that I'm still confused on my feelings for him," Sofia said with a small smile at the bunny's cute gesture.

"Why are you confused?"

"I honestly don't know," Sofia said with a pitiful laugh.

"Well can I help?" he asked, snuggling closer to her.

"No, it's alright," Sofia said with a small smile as she pet its tiny head. "You don't have to. You should probably return back to your family before they miss you."

"I don't have any anymore," it said with a heavy forlorn tone. "Soldiers hunted my family and I'm all alone now."

Sofia's throat felt tighter than it already was. "You're all alone?" _How have you been able to survive on your own? You look like you could be only three months old!_

"Yes, missy."

Sofia just looked at the poor, sad thing, seeing how lonely and fragile it was. He probably felt more alone than Sofia would ever feel in her life. Picking up the tiny thing, Sofia gently smiled at how he seemed to fit into the palms of her hands. "Well, you're not alone anymore. I'm your family now. What's your name?"

"Blue," it smiled happily at her, his tiny ears up and tail wagging.

"Nice to meet you, Blue. I'm Sofia," Sofia said as she nicely shook its tiny paw.

"Well, can I help make you feel better, Sofia?" Blue said in his young, squeaky voice, smiling excitedly at her.

Laughing softly, Sofia just looked at how happy the small bunny seemed to be with wanting to help his new family. "I don't know, Blue. I just need go out for a short while and talk to anyone that is not in this castle."

"You don't like the people here? They're pretty nice people. One nice lady even feeds me food once in a while," Blue said, answering her earlier unspoken question.

"Oh, no. It's not that they're bad people, Blue. It's just that I need to talk to anyone who might understand what I'm feeling and try to explain it to me."

"Well, do you have friends outside of the castle? Maybe they can help."

Sofia couldn't believe that she didn't think of that before. She'll go into the village and have her old village friends help her sort out her feelings! And while she's at it, she can give them their invitations to the ball in two days and she knows a perfect way to get them into the castle without gaining James's wrath. "… I do!" Sofia said excitedly, hugging Blue tightly to her. "Blue, there is something you can help me with!" Looking over at her room's clock, she realizes that she has been sitting on the floor and talking to a bunny for well over five hours because it was an hour before dinnertime.

"Really?"

"Yes," Sofia smiled at him. "Blue, did you enter my room through the old holes and passages in the walls?" Sofia remembers how that was exactly how Clover and her old friends managed to hide from her entire family and secretly travel through the castle before the king happily allowed her to keep them as pets.

With an excited nod from Blue, Sofia continued on. "Blue, I don't want to leave my room because then everyone will storm at me and ask if I'm okay. Then, I won't be able to leave in secret. So I need you to travel through the passages in the wall and go to my sister's room on the left and get me three envelops from a big brown and gold box? The invitations will say 'you are cordially invited to the royal ball' on it. Can you get them for me?"

"Roger!" Blue said with a mock salute and he hopped off into one of the nearby holes.

For several, nervous minutes, Sofia sat anxiously waiting for Blue's return. She refused to leave her spot on the floor and just remained seated against the door. Her mind began to fear that her new little bunny might get caught in Amber's room and killed just like his family. And moments later, Blue comes out of the hole with three big, white and gold envelopes in his mouth.

"Ah! Blue! Are you okay?" Sofia exclaimed, relief filling her at the sight of thr safe bunny.

"I'm fine," he smiles at her as he hands her the invitations. "Are these the envelopes you were talking about?"

"Yes! Oh, thank you, Blue!" Sofia exclaims as she picks him up into her hands and hugs him tightly. Gently putting him back onto the floor, Sofia walks over to her closet and tried to find anything that might not draw any attention to her.

Since all of her old commoner gowns are too small for her to wear, Sofia had to discard them. Now, all that filled her closet were new, glittery, and shiny gowns that Madame Collette had made for her. Over in the corner, safely packed into a protective bag was her "Welcome Back" ball gown with a matching mask to correlate with the theme that Amber had picked out: a masquerade ball. She wanted it to work well with the Halloween holiday that was the very next day after their ball.

"What are you looking for Sofia?" Blue asked at her feet.

"I need a commoner's gown so that I can blend in at the village."

"You don't have one in there?"

"Actually, I do have one. My sister and I were planning on sneaking out into the village tonight. So, she hid a commoner's gown in my closet so I can have it ready beforehand. I just can't seem to find it."

"I'll help then," Blue said with a cheery tone.

Behind her, she could hear the tiny taps of his hops. Back and forth, his taps told her that he was hopping from corner to corner, helping her look through all of her new gowns and trying to find an old and worn commoner's gown. Sofia didn't know how long they were in her closet, searching and rummaging through all of the silk and satin gowns.

"Sofia, what's in here?" Blue asked as he dragged out a brown side satchel from behind some of her green gowns.

"What the…." Sofia asked as she kneeled down next to Blue and opened up the bag. And inside it was none other than a dark brown commoner's gown with a grey blouse and black boots. There was a black cloak with matching black scarf and the invitations that had her friends' names neatly inscribed onto them. "Blue, do you know that you are just amazing?" Sofia smiled wide at him, who just happily laughed at her.

After quickly changing into her disguise, Sofia placed Blue and both sets of invitations into her satchel.

"How are we going to sneak out?" Blue asked as he popped his head out of the bag's opening.

Sofia stood there as she contemplated her escape route. She knew that her room was too high up for her and blue to go through the window. And even if she did, she doesn't have enough sheets to make it all the way down. Her only option is to go out through the castle side doors that lead to the flying horse stables. Looking up at her clock again, she saw the dinner had just started and most likely everyone, including the staff, were either in the royal dining hall or at the staff mess hall.

Now was her only best chance to go or else she'll be caught if she delays any longer.

Before leaving, she had Blue peak out from below her door to make sure that no one was around. Given the okay, she dashed out of her room as quickly as possible with her hood on. Down several flights of stairs and corridors, Sofia managed to make it past the dining hall and other passing servants. But she was unable to make it close to the side doors as there were two guards standing post.

Rethinking her escape route, she had to take the longer direction towards the staff doors. And with a sigh of relief, Sofia made it out of the staff doors and toward the flying horse stables without having anyone stop her or give her a second glance. Running as fast as she could in the shadows, Sofia was breathless and winded by the moment she stopped in front of the stable gates.

"Good job, Sofia!" Blue whispered encouragingly at her from inside her bag.

"Thanks, Blue," Sofia huffed, smiling at her little companion.

Inside, Sofia looked over all of the beautiful and elegant flying horses. She didn't know which one to choose or pick as her best chance of getting to the village and back in time before anyone notices her. So, she just went with the one a purple coat that reminded her of her old flying derby horse, Minimus.

"Hello there," Sofia said quietly, so that she wouldn't spook it. "What's your name?"

"Lilac, Princess Sofia," the female flying horse neighed.

"Hi, Lilac! My name is Blue!" said the tiny bunny, waving his small paw at the majestic flying horse.

"Hello there, Blue."

"Can I ask you a quick favor, Lilac?"

"Of course, Your Highness. Anything for the princess that can speak animal," said the flying horse.

Laughing gently, Sofia smiled at Lilac. "I guess my reputation still lives on here at the castle. Lilac, can you fly us into the village as quick as you can?"

"It would be an honor to be of service to you, Princess Sofia."

And without any further delay, Sofia was up in the air and flying at what felt like the speed of light. The cold night air rushed into her face as Lilac sped faster and faster towards the village. The night stars danced all around her as she was flying with Lilac and a little frightened Blue. Not even bothering to hold onto Lilac's reins, Sofia spread her arms out wide and let the rushing air blow through her. The cold autumn night air held an earthy scent to it, and Sofia savored the tranquility of the night.

In the horizon, the village lights were fast approaching and Sofia lowered Lilac down towards the edge of the village closest to Jade's house.

_Hopefully they still live in the same houses. _

Thanking Lilac and tying her to a nearby tree, Sofia and Blue walked into the village and began their search for her old friends. Walking around the village square, Sofia was quickly able to locate Jade's house and ran towards it. Firmly knocking on the front door, Sofia was shocked to find a strange man open the door.

"Hello, how may I help you?" said the big, round man. His hair was grey and balding while he had a bushy beard.

"Um… does a girl by the name of Jade live here by any chance?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"Oh, okay," Sofia said despondently, dread filling her. "Do you so happen to know where the Hanshaw family might be?"

"Oh, they still live in that cottage just outside the village square."

And just like that, hope renewed itself and Sofia happily thanked the big man and ran towards Ruby's old house. Just over the corner, Sofia managed to run fast and short. Knocking frantically as the adrenaline was still pumping in her veins, Sofia waited as the lights in the cottage turned on and she heard footsteps walk towards the front door.

She almost let out a happy scream as she saw Ruby answer the door.

The same age as Sofia, Ruby was so much taller than Sofia remembered and her black hair was now grown out. Long and still in her dreadlocks, Ruby was the image of an African princess. Her cheekbones were high and graceful as her big red lips were big and plump; her chocolate colored skin looked silky and soft. Her brown eyes were big and round, but at the moment, they were only like that because she was shocked to be looking at her long-lost friend.

"Sofia? Is that really you?"

"Ruby! Oh my gosh!" Sofia exclaimed, hugging her friend tightly.

"Sofia, what are you doing here so late at night?" Pulling away, Sofia then noticed how Ruby was wrapped in a robe and bed slippers. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. "Quick, come in."

"Ruby, I can't stay long. I just needed to talk to you and Jade, and Lucinda. And drop off the invitations to my and Amber's ball in two days," Sofia said as she pulled out the invitations. "Do you know where Jade and Lucinda are?"

Sofia then noticed how much sorrow coated Ruby's eyes as she spoke, "Jade is right here, but Lucinda…. Oh, Sofia, so much as changed since you left."

"Wait, what do you –" Sofia began before Jade's familiar voice came into the small living room.

"Ruby, who was at the door?" Jade's voice asked. "Oh, my gosh! Sofia?!"

Sofia saw how much Jade has grown. Out of the three of them, she was always the tallest, but now as adults, Ruby seemed to fill that role. Jade's dark brown hair was still cut short at shoulder level; her pale skin now had a light tan to it and her light brown eyes held a tougher glow to them. She now looked like a tough beauty that might even rival those of the Amazonian women. But even so, there was still gentleness to her tough features.

"Jade!" Sofia squealed as she ran to hug her.

"Sofia's here to deliver her ball's invitations," Ruby explained to Jade's confused expression.

"Jade, what are you doing here anyway? I was over at your house earlier and a strange man answered the door," Sofia asked as she pulled out of their hug.

Sofia then saw Jade pass a worried and sad glance to Ruby.

"Sofia… I think it's best if you sit down for this." Jade motioned for Sofia to sit on one of the living room's chairs by the fire.

"After news of King Roland II's death and your exile, many of the subjects, our parents especially, charged at the castle to demand answers. Some were peaceful about it while others were violent, they stormed the castle and it didn't turn out well. James had everyone kicked out of the castle and locked the gates. The people didn't like it, so one day they tried to climb over the gates. James then had the soldiers kill all those at the scene," Ruby explained. "Jade's parents were there, trying to calm everyone down. But James didn't care, he had them all killed."

"Oh, Jade... I am so sorry," Sofia said as her throat tightened with emotion. She gently reached out the Jade and placed a comforting hand over hers. Jade just smiled tightly at her, but Sofia could still see the pained emotions in her eyes.

"It's okay; it wasn't like you could have done anything. He banished you and your family away from Enchancia before any of that happened." Sofia could hear the hard contempt Jade had for James and the look of cold stone in Ruby's eyes. They hated James for all he's done to their families. Sofia couldn't blame them, but then she knew that she couldn't talk to them about her new feelings for James, not when they hated him so much.

And somewhere inside of her, she felt a bitter pang of loneliness. _I'm all alone in this…. There's no one I can turn to and talk about this…._

"So since then, my mom adopted Jade into the family… but…." Ruby tried to continue but her voice became tight and choked.

"But… last year, Mrs. Hanshaw caught a serious case of pneumonia and died," Jade finished for her as she brought her arms around Ruby. "We live together now and took over Buttercup Scouts as den mothers."

"So, it's only been the two of you guys? All alone?" Sofia couldn't believe what she heard. Two of her three best friends have been living with so much pain for the last five years. With a nod from Ruby and a verbal "yes" from Jade, Sofia continued on. "What about Lucinda? Where is she?"

"After that event, James had every magical person be transferred to Royal Prep. He converted that royal school of yours into a magical prison for all witches, sorcerer, or any being with magic in their blood. Once they grow old, he has them transferred to Mystic Meadows, the old retirement home he had converted into another prison. Royal Prep is a maximum magical prison; no one is allowed to see any of the occupants and no can get in or out. We haven't seen you or Lucinda in five years," Ruby said once she regained control of herself.

_That means Lucinda can't make it to the ball… and I can't see or talk to her either…. I really am all alone. _

"How are you even back here, Sofia?" Jade asked. "Last I heard, you and your family was banished to a secret location outside of the kingdom."

Changing from her original plan to talk to them about her feelings, Sofia simply switched to just explaining that Baileywick and Cedric both called on Sofia and Amber to return back to Enchancia so that Sofia may have a chance at saving James and the kingdoms. That they believe there is some hope in changing James for the better and restoring peace back into the other kingdoms. Sofia told them of her plans and how much James has indeed changed, however leaving out her more personal details. She continued to explain how she snuck out of the castle just to see them and hand over their invitations.

"So, can you two make it to our ball?" Sofia asked, changing the subject back to her original mission.

"I don't know, Sofia," Ruby said with a sad lilt in her voice. "This is such short notice, the ball is only two days away and we can possibly come up with dresses fancy enough for a royal ball."

"And James banned all commoners from entering the castle," Jade said, the cold hatred for him returning back to her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Sofia said encouragingly, wanting to extinguish that angry fire in her friend's eyes. "I already have that all planned out."

And the two looked at Sofia with pure curiosity and confusion.

"I'm going to have a carriage pick you two up tomorrow and bring you guys to the palace so you can have your gowns fitted and made. Then, before James can protest about you two, I'm going to announce that you are my new Ladies-in-waiting! So then, you can just go in and out of the palace as you please. And we can see each other all of the time! No questions asked."

"What?!" the two of them exclaimed.

"Are you two up for it?" Sofia asked hopefully. "You don't have to agree to it. I can just have a pass made for you two for the tomorrow and the ball, if you aren't."

"Sofia…." Ruby said with sad eyes as she grabbed one of Sofia's hands. "That's very generous of you to offer such a prestigious position but I can't agree to that. Not after everything that James has done to my and Jade's family and this kingdom, all of the killing and bloodshed..."

"I'm sorry Sofia, but I agree with Ruby. I just can't look at him and not think about what he's done, even if you say that he's changing and getting better. And I don't think I can leave this place and Ruby…." Jade looked sadly at Sofia and gave her free hand a tight squeeze.

"Oh… okay…." Sofia forced a smile, not wanting to show her friends any of her tears that threatened to break free.

"Sofia, we'll just take the passes instead and promise to come to the ball. Okay?" Ruby smiled hopefully back at her.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, you guys." Sofia continued to force her smile. "I have to get back before they notice that I'm gone."

And with that, she hugged and waved goodbye to her friends before departing. Back up in the air with Lilac, Sofia then allowed her tears to fall hard. The entire time, Lilac and Blue didn't say anything to her, not knowing what to say or do as her hot tears burned down her pink cheeks.

Sofia has never felt this alone or helpless. She had no one to talk to or even just confide in about her feelings for James. Sofia knew that Amber and everyone else at the palace wouldn't understand as they only saw her as their salvation to James and the kingdom. They would think she's only letting her feelings get in the way of their long, hard work and threaten their carefully crafted plans. She already knew that Ruby and Jade hated James and would never be supportive of her feelings. They would try to make her rethink about what she exactly felt for James and try to push her to another boy, most likely a village boy or some other lord or prince.

_No one can help me… _

* * *

Chapter ten! WOO!

As always, I would like to thank everyone who stayed with my series since the beginning. I can't believe that I'm already at chapter ten! Wow! All of your love and support has been incredible! And I would like to apologize for the whole chapter nine mess last week. I still don't understand what happened.

And like I promised, I am giving you guys two chapters this week because of the whole mess last week. Sorry that I didn't upload it right after the situation was fixed, I was in the middle of chapter eleven and still had to send it to my friends to look over before I actually upload it. And then she told me how much of it didn't correlate well with the previous chapters, so I had to change it all and fix it. That took longer than expected because I now had two chapters to fix up, and now it seems that I'm going to have to change my storyline a bit and I might have to remove a character I was hoping to introduce at the ball... [more detail in next chapter's author's note]

Read, review, etc. Reviews make me happy!

Thanks :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story**

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

**Chapter 11: Finding Sofia**

_**James**_

James was pacing back and forth inside of his room. The heels of his old boots making clicking sounds that echoed all around his silent room. After Baileywick convinced James and everyone else to allow Sofia to have a moment to calm down, James returned back to his room and remained there all day. He was mostly by himself with the occasional servant handing him a tray of lunch and dinner. He was trying hard to make sense of what just happened between Sofia and him.

All day, his mind was only on Sofia and their kiss, no amount of royal paperwork could get her out of his mind as their first kiss kept repeating itself in his thoughts.

He could still remember his initial shock as he felt her lips on his and the joy that ran through his body seconds later. How soft and luscious her lips felt against his and how perfectly her body molded towards his as he crushed her to him. He never wanted to let her out of his arms because she was far too precious for him to do so. He just wanted to keep her there, nice and safe in his arms so to never allow a single harm come to her and just continue to be the only man in the entire world to kiss her.

_She just wasn't ready to hear it. That's all, right? _James thought, trying to understand as to why she ran away from him_. _

She admitted that she had feelings for him! She kissed him first and clung to him as their kiss turned passionate. James could still feel how tightly she wrapped her arms around him and how wonderful it felt to have her hands run through his hair. It was all still vivid him his mind, he could still fell her warmth and heat on his body. How warm and sweet her lips tasted on his, that her lips were so plump and swollen as they broke apart just to gasp for air. James remembers seeing the wanting in her blue eyes and recalls the thrill and excitement that coursed through his body when he saw that the wanting was for him. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her!

He finally got to _touch_ her, _hold_ her, and _kiss_ her. They fell asleep in each other's arms! Last night was everything he's been dreaming about for the last three weeks, maybe even longer than that!

But then, this morning was far different than last night.

One moment, they were happily kissing and laughing. It was all a precious and loving moment that would forever be pierced in his mind and heart. He woke up to her in his arms, he was able to see the love in her eyes and felt it in their kiss. She teased and playfully hit him like they were already a perfect couple. He was able to memorize every inch and detail of her body and mouth as he gazed at her in those morning hours they had together. Everything was perfect for him, he finally got his Sofia.

James even found a way to make their entire relationship valid and okay. After realizing that he was in love with her, James was in the library one day and accidentally stumbled on an old Enchancian law textbook. And while just mindlessly flipping through the pages, James found that royal family members, the king especially, can be allowed to marry within the family if they so please. It was like the book purposefully fell into his hands and showed him a solution to his worries; this fact alone made all of his worry about falling in love with his stepsister leave his shoulders and it gave him relief.

And after he learned that she had feelings for him, he just wanted to tell the entire world. She was finally his! He wanted to court her and maybe even marry her. The entire kingdom, the world, the universe needed to know this! That she kissed him and it caused nothing but utter joy and happiness for him. _She_ was his happiness!

_It was all so perfect! I was just so stupid enough to say 'I love you' too fast! _

And the next thing he knew, she ran out of his room after he told her that he loved her.

The ache and hurt and shock were still there in his heart. James just didn't know what to do when he saw her fly away from his arms and dash out of his study. All he could do was just sit there as the bitter pangs of heartbreak began to sink into him. And after seconds of shock, James ran after Sofia and tried to grab her before she locked herself into her room. He just wanted talk to her, to ask her questions and receive answers from her, that's all.

He cursed at himself for getting so caught up in his emotions to let those words slip out. James knew that he probably said those three words too early in their newly found relationship, but he only wanted to tell her so that she knew.

_I said them and she ran, great!_ He continued to curse at himself. _Why did I have to be so stupid and say them so early! Why couldn't I just wait a few more months or years to say them? She just wasn't ready for me to say it, that's all. Right? _

He only just realized his feelings for her not three weeks ago and for so long in those three weeks, he has been trying to fight them and resist their urge to grab at Sofia and kiss her until she was breathless. So when she told him and kissed him first, it was all he could think of to do. He wanted to tell her for so long because he realized that he has always been in love with her, it was only just recently did he truly acknowledged it.

Even as a kid, he subconsciously knew that he was in love with her. Ever since they were kids, James and Sofia had made the perfect team. It was only the two of them and he loved every moment where James and Sofia could laugh loud and be together. His realization now only explained why he was so protective of her and wanted to keep her by his side as a kid. Because he loved her.

And now that he's just understood his feelings for her, he just might lose her already.

James just couldn't fathom how quickly the moment turn. He just told her that he loved her. Why would she run away from his words?

_Could it be that she can't love you because of the monster in you…? _

And James froze. Physically and mentally.

Even though it has been nearly five years since he's last heard that voice in broad daylight, James could recognize it anywhere. Only just recently did that voice return in his nightmares, but then, Sofia was there to save him from its claws. _No! No! No! No! How are you back inside of my head?! _

_She can't love you, James. You're too much of a monster. You honestly think you can be saved? _

James hands flew up and over his ears, trying his hardest to not listen to that malicious voice. _No! You're wrong! Sofia can save me and she's trying to!_

_Then why did she run away? Why did she leave you when you told her that you love her? _

_Maybe she just wasn't ready to hear it! _

The voice then laughed loud and harsh at him, as if he was an ignorant child. _No, no. It's because she can't love you! Even if she has feelings for you, James, her feelings will never turn into love for you! She can never love someone like you! _

_No! You're wrong! I know there's hope that she can love me! That she can save me! _

_You see, maybe that is why she can't love you? You are too dependent on her! How can she love a monster who is so needy and clings to her like she was a life raft?_

_No! No! No! You're wrong! _

_Oh really? Then go to her room, demand that she tell you she can love you! That she can save you from your demons! Oh wait, you can't because she refuses to talk to you! _The voice continued to mock him._ And either way, she already left the palace. She ran away from you, James and, now, she's escaped from the castle because she can't stand the thought of you! Ahaha! Can you believe it? She didn't want a monster like you in love with her! _

_What? Stop lying! She's in her room; she couldn't and _wouldn't_ have left the castle! _

_Go and check for yourself then! _

And that was exactly what James did. He ran to Sofia's door and pounded on it, calling and yelling for Sofia to answer him. James didn't know how long he kept on hitting and thrashing at her door just so he can hear her voice to prove that voice in his head wrong.

"Sofia! Sofia!" James kept repeating until he felt his throat begin to hurt. "Sofia, please answer me!"

_She's not going to answer you, James, because she's not in there. She couldn't stand the thought of loving you so she ran away! _The voice continued to cruelly laugh at him.

"James? What's going on? Didn't Baileywick say to leave her alone?" James heard Amber's voice behind him. Turning, he saw that she was flanked with Sofia's and Amber's two personal guards.

"Amber!" James began to panic. "Sofia's not in her room!"

"What?" his twin asked, looking at him like he has lost his mind. "Don't be stupid James. Sofia couldn't have left her room; someone would have told us if she did."

James knew that was true because, after Baileywick shooed them away from her door, both James and Amber had a rare moment where they both agreed with each other to have servants keep an eye on her door and notify them if they see her exit her room.

"I've been pounding on her door for I don't know how long, and she hasn't been answering back to me!"

"Maybe she just doesn't want to talk to you," James heard Cyrus scoff.

Glaring at him, James began to shout louder at the insignificant guard. "Then _you_ try and get her to open her door for you! I bet she won't because she's not in her room!"

"And _I_ bet you she _will_ open her door!" Cyrus angrily seethed at him. "She probably hasn't spoken to you because you did something to her!"

James didn't respond as fast as he would have liked, unable to retort back to the idiot because James knew that it was his fault that Sofia locked herself in her room in the first place. He just got into Cyrus's face and snapped, "you want to say that again you lowly piece of shi –"

"Shut up, you two!" Amber scolded them, stopping their argument short before it got out of hand. "I'll call to her and she'll answer _me_ because I'm her beloved sister."

James and Cyrus continued to glare at each other as the other guard, Edward, moved in between them to prevent the two from fighting with each other and motioned for Amber to go and knock on Sofia's door.

"Sofia?" Amber said after several short knocks. "Hey, it's Amber. Can you please answer back because James is freaking out and keeps on saying that you're not in your room."

James could hear the others hold their breaths as they waited for Sofia to answer back to Amber's plea. And for several minutes, only silence echoed through the quiet hallway.

"Sofia, come on," Amber said, knocking harder on her door. James could hear the fear in her voice. "Sofia, you're scaring me now." Amber got closer to the door and began to jiggle the doorknob. "Sofia, hey –"

Then James heard the doorknob turn and open, revealing Sofia's empty room. Following Amber into her room, James looked around and couldn't find a single clue of where Sofia might be.

"Sofia?" Cyrus called out.

"Sofia! Where are you?" Amber yelled.

And still, silence was their only reply.

Soon, everyone began to look all over her room, from under her bed to inside her bathroom to behind her curtains. Each one of them kept on calling out her name. And the entire time James and everyone else was frantically searching Sofia's room, a fear began to grow within the pit of his stomach.

_I told you, James. She left the palace because of you. _

_No! No! This can be! _James began to grow hysterical. He could feel his heart and mind began to break at the same time. _Sofia!_

"Cyrus! The bag is gone!" Amber screamed from within Sofia's closet.

"What?!" Cyrus exclaimed, running over to Sofia's closet. "How can this be?"

Willing himself to ignore the voice in his head, James ran over to the closet and joined his twin sister to know what's going on. "What bag, Amber?" But the three of them just ignored him.

"You don't think she's…." Amber asked Edward and Cyrus.

"It's possible of the satchel is gone." Edward replied.

"Amber!" James yelled, upset that the three of them were ignoring him like he wasn't there. "What bag?"

James watched as they exchanged nervous glances between them. James even heard a shaky gulp from the Edward guy.

"James," Amber the only one to speak up, "I hid a satchel of supplies for Sofia to use tonight so that she could sneak into the village and go visit her old friends. The bag is now missing and I believe that is where she might be."

"In the village?! At this time during the night?!" James exclaimed shocked. "Amber, do you know how dangerous the village is at night?!"

"Yes, we knew about it, Your Majesty." Cyrus looked firmly at James, "I wasn't going to allow her to go alone, I planned on acc –"

"You knew about this?" James charged at Cyrus, pinning him against the exposed wall in Sofia's closet. James lifted him by the collar of his uniform and angrily spat into his face, "how can you call yourself her personal guard if you were going to allow her to go into the village at night?"

"I was going to go with her!" Cyrus choked out.

"That doesn't make a difference! You should have convinced her _not_ to go!" James could feel his anger mounting again, just like when he fought with Cyrus before and went berserk.

"James!" Amber's voice broke through their argument. "Let him go! We need to focus on finding Sofia!"

"And Amber! Why didn't you just come to me and ask for the coachman? How could you be so stupid and just help Sofia sneak out?!"

"Because you basically forbid her from leaving the castle!" Amber angrily yelled at him as she tried to pry his hands off of Cyrus. Turning him to face her, Amber just glared up at him. "Look, James, we're not going to get anywhere if we just continue to fight with each other. We need to get out there and try to find Sofia before anything bad happens to her."

"You're right," James admitted angrily. With his jaw set, James released Cyrus, mentally satisfied to hear him grunt painfully as he seemed to lose his footing and fell to the floor, and stormed out of the closet. "Amber, since you might know where her friends' homes might be, you go with these two and a team of guards into the village and look for Sofia. I'll stay here and have the staff and remaining guards search the entire castle grounds to see if she's left already or not."

And with a nod, Amber and the two guards run out of the room. James could hear Cyrus bark orders as he made his way down the hallway.

James then quickly informed Baileywick and the other staff members that Sofia has gone missing. He ordered everyone to search every inch of the castle grounds and find her as fast as they can. He and Baileywick interrogate the staff members that was supposed to have kept watch on Sofia's door. James basically yelled at them and questioned how they could have not see her leave her room. James later joined in on the search when news was brought back that she was nowhere inside the castle. Frustrated and afraid, he just yelled at everyone to continue to search and try again.

After several more hours of searching and searching, James later admitted that she couldn't have been inside the palace but still had everyone continue to search. He even widened the search and had more people search the entire castle grounds. James went out into the gardens to try his best to find her, hoping that he'll at least find a clue about where she might be. Outside, he was told by a stable boy that one of the flying horses, Lilac, is gone as well, confirming his fear that she was already up in the air and flying into the night. Away from him….

James didn't know what else to think or do, he couldn't even feel the anger that usually would have erupted at this point. He was just numb and weak at hearing that Sofia _might_ be gone.

_No, you fool. She is _already_ gone_, James chided himself. _She's given up on you because you can't be saved…. _Not even the voice could be heard in his head as his heart went cold and he aimlessly walked in the garden. His own tears seemed to have left him, just like Sofia. James let the cold autumn air hit his face as he continued to roam the garden. He didn't even follow the same path that he and Sofia would walk every day; without her by his side, the path only looked empty and uninviting.

_Sofia…. My Sofia… she's gone. _

While wandering the garden with a heavy heart for what felt like an eternity, James painfully stubbed his foot against a hard stone pillar. Mutely cursing at himself for wearing such old boots, he leaned against the pillar that caused him his pain and tried to rub away the pain in his foot.

_Great, now the pain in my foot can match the pain in my chest…_ James somberly complained.

Looking up, James noticed that he was leaning against one of the busts of his ancestor, King William, his ten-time great grandfather. Surveying his surroundings, James saw that he was below the stone canopy of the royal busts. Above him, the flowers and vines twisted and latched themselves onto the limestone covering of the area. Every pastel color imaginable was blooming in the moonlight all around him as he continued down the path, roses and leaves covered nearly every inch of the white limestone above him.

James remembered being told that his great uncle had this constructed so that it would protect all of the royal busts from the rain and wind. And in those years since it finished construction, the plants and vines grew rapidly and dominated the stone top above.

And even if he was mesmerized by the lush natural beauty of his surroundings and the stony royal busts, he knew what exactly awaited him at the end of the path: his father's bust.

Walking further down the path, James felt like every stony eye was on him as if they were judging him for everything he's done. And James knew he deserved each one of their imaginary stares, whether it be judgmental or not.

James hasn't been back here since his father's death, not even when he had his father's body prompt placed into the family crypt and ordered for his bust to be placed with the rest of the deceased family members' busts. James remembered how he refused to walk by this area for fear of what it might exactly do to his mind.

But now… James had nothing to lose. He already lost Sofia, so why not just go to the exact place that he has always feared to walk past. To just let the pain and fear consume his mind….

And James finally made it in front of his father's bust.

He could see how remarkable the resemblance of the bust was to his father. It was almost an exact match except that the bust's eyes were cold and distant.

_Funny, I think that's how he'll look at me if he was still alive and saw exactly what's happened to the kingdom now that I'm king,_ James thought painfully. _Dad… everything I've done till now has been all just crap… I've ruined everything and now even Sofia thinks I can't be saved. She ran away from me and now I'm all alone. _

_Dad… _James looked into the bust's eyes and knew that he what he had to say to it, even if it's not really his father. He just needed to say what he's been neglecting to say for over five years now. _I'm so sorry for everything. I never meant to kill you…. Something was controlling me that night. I know that we were a bit on tense terms because of the massive secret you've kept from me and Amber, but I never meant for it to become some grudge. I was ready to forgive you, I was ready to move past it all because Sofia showed me how to…._

And soon, memories of five years ago return to him like they happened just yesterday.

It was a cool summer day and James was out playing in the castle's agility course with Sofia, angrily telling her how he felt about their father keeping their mother's true cause of death a secret from him and altering his memories.

"Can you believe him, Sofia?" James shouted as he jumped over the now expanded water moat. "He had the nerve to change my memories so that I forgot about her!"

Since finding his father's notes in the attic and learning that he had an affair which caused his mother to become depressed and soon take her life, James remembered how he confronted his father and demanded answers. But learning the truth did him no good, so he had Cedric restore his memories.

"Well, technically you didn't forget about her," Sofia said as she landed beside him after releasing the rope and readjusting her long ponytail. "You only forgot that she committed suicide."

"No! He had Cedric alter my memories so that I forgot about my mom!" James shouted back at her and instantly regretted it when he saw her eyes grow wide.

James couldn't help but notice that he's been more and more angry at his father since his memories was restored and would take it out on Sofia, the last person who deserved it. It was only Sofia that would offer to hear and help him out whenever he needed a person, but he would constantly end up yelling and shouting at her. She was even there when he had Cedric remove the spell on him and Amber so that he could have his true memories back. She knew just what to say to calm him down, but… something in him would make him get so angry and yell at her, which he never meant to do. And like the angel she is, she wouldn't ever get upset with him for yelling at her.

"Sorry, Sof. I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

"It's alright, James," Sofia said with a slight worried expression. "I know that you're just upset with Dad for keeping this massive secret from you, but you have to see it from his perspective as to exactly why he did it."

"What do you mean? Are you taking his side?" James asked harshly, eyeing her with hard betrayal.

"James," Sofia said with a warning tone. She stopped and looked up at him with her hands on her hips. "No, I'm not taking sides because there are none to take."

"Sofia…" James began, ashamed at how angry he got at her again. He couldn't find it in himself to finish the sentence and admit to her that he only said that because he was afraid that he was going to lose the only person in the entire castle that understood him the best. He just didn't want to lose her, the most perfect girl in all of Enchancia.

Even at only thirteen years-old, Sofia was a rare beauty with mid-length brunette hair that shined and flowed in the sun. Her icy blue eyes and perfect smile always glowed and brightened any day for him.

"I know, James. You're sorry." She said with a gentle smile as she took his hands and led him off to the side of the course and sat him down under an isolated shady tree. "Come on, I think that you've had enough of the course for today and just need to relax."

James remember how he could only nod at her and let her pull him down to her as she sat down on one of the big exposed roots of the tall tree.

"James," Sofia continued on. "Think about it. You told me that you remember being the first one to discover your mother's hanging body and screamed as loud as you could, right? Then Dad arrived on the scene and pulled you away from her room. You remember crying and crying, yelling as to what happened to your mother, right?"

"Yeah, what's your point?" He gazed at her, seeing how beautiful she looked as the sun's lights danced all around her, giving her a crown of yellow light.

"James, I honestly think that Dad only had Cedric change your memories because you were so traumatized from finding your mother hanging herself. I think that he didn't want you to remember her like that and changed your memories so that you would only remember the happy and beautiful woman that she was. He was only trying to protect you and Amber," Sofia said as she held onto his left hand and looked at him with a gentle hope. "James, I'm not saying that you don't have the right to be upset with him. You honestly do, you can yell and shout and just be angry. But can you just try to see it from his side?"

"Yeah… I can see what you're trying to say, Sof," James began. "It's just that…. You see, I'm just…. I just need to be angry, Sof. That's all."

"I know, James, I know." Sofia smiled at him.

"I'm angry that he cheated on my mom, I'm angry that he changed my memories, and I'm angry at myself for being this mad at him…."

"Why are you mad at yourself, James?"

"Because, I want this all to be behind me and him. I just want to move on but I'm so mad at him right now that I can't forgive and just put it all into the past."

"You'll get there, James." Sofia looked at him and gave his hand a tight squeeze. "It just takes time, but you'll learn to forgive him and put this all behind you. You just can't make this into a grudge because then, you won't truly move on."

And with a smile and a small kiss on his forehead, Sofia and James just sat there all day. Isolated from everyone and under a big tree, it was only the two of them in their own sweet world…. That day was perfect for James, he had Sofia by his side while the sun shined on them and illuminated the peace between them.

_Dad…._ James thought, still gazing at his father's bust. _Please forgive me for everything I've done…. I honestly didn't mean any of it…. I'm so sorry…._

And in the middle of his self-pitting, James heard a faint but distinct horse neigh followed by someone's whispers.

_What the…_ James thought as he followed the sounds, which seemed to be around the curved corner of the big green wall covered with white and burgundy colored flowers. The walk around the large curve was long and tedious, but James didn't care because he was too occupied with finding out who the voice belonged to. He knew that one was a horse's and later heard a bunny's yipping and snorting.

The closer he got to the voices, the louder and more distinct the person's voice got. He realized that it was clearly a girl's voice, it sounded like it has been crying because it was all choked and thick with obvious tears.

When he finally made it around the long corner, the autumn moonlight illuminated a dark mound further down the green path. And approaching closer and closer, the more clearer the dark mound became as the moonlight shined down on it. With quiet steps so that he wouldn't scare them, James made his way towards the mysterious person and their horse and managed to see a someone who sat at an angle with their back slightly towards him. James could only see a small side of their face from the angle as they looked like they were hugging their knees. The person was facing what looked like a purple horse and a small bunny, which was on top of the horse's back. The person's feminine silhouette confirmed his earlier thought of how the voice must have belonged to a girl.

The horse and bunny was so focused on the girl that they didn't even seem to notice James or hear him in the shadows. She seemed like she was talking to someone, but James couldn't see or hear anyone else there.

By the time he was only a few feet away from the girl, he was able to recognize who exactly she was.

_Sofia! _

_She didn't leave! _

_She didn't run away!_

_She's right here! _

How could he have not notice thay it was her? It should have been obvious from the way her hair falls behind her in lush, soft wavy lengths and over the delicate curves of her shoulders? How, even in the moonlight, her skin still appeared creamy and silky. And, most importantly, how could James not recognize the velvetiness of her voice, the soft richness that only Sofia can make…. How could he have not realized that the girl he was in love with was the mystery girl right in front of him!

And without a second thought, James made a mad dash for her.

"Sofia!" James cried with joy as he ran towards her. "Sofia! You're here!"

James ran as fast as he could, his feet flying and pounding on the ground at a speed that he felt like it wasn't fast enough to reach her. He just needed to get to her as fast as he could because he wanted to feel like she was real, that his broken heart wasn't playing tricks on his mind.

He saw her quickly turn at the sound of James yelling her name over and over again. And as she turned, he saw something shiny and liquid all over her cheeks an almost stopped in his tracks. The moonlight showed tears running down her perfect cheeks and soon something James made him want to be there right by her side. He wanted to know why she was crying and make the tears stop, to just replace those fallen tears and see her smile instead.

Oh, how he would do anything just to never see her cry again.

_You are too dependent on her! How can she love a monster who is so needy and clings to her like she was a life raft? _The voice's earlier words echoed in his head. Seeing Sofia's tears, it was like something was telling him that she needed someone right now. Someone who can be there and comfort her in her darkest and lowest moments, someone who she doesn't have to mask her emotions and be free to just be herself with, someone who can shoulder all of her fallen tears and help her carry all of her burdens.

And, right then and there, he was determined that somebody will be him.

_Sofia has always been there for me. So, now, I'm going to be there for her. I'll become someone she can depend on and need. _

Within a short amount of time, James manage to make it to Sofia's side. Unable to contain himself, James skidded to a stop and fell to the soft green ground beside her, immediately crushing her into his arms. He heard her gasp in shock as he pulled her towards him and wrapped himself around her.

"James?" Sofia yelped into his chest as he pressed her even closer to him.

"Oh crap, Sofia," James breathed into her hair. "You're actually here. You didn't leave!"

"James," Sofia tried to say against him but didn't say much as he began to kiss her hair, her cheek, her neck. Her entire face, basically.

"You're okay. You're here," James said in between the kisses.

"James, how did you find – " Sofia tried to pull away but wasn't able to fight against James's strength.

James just continued to kiss and hug her tighter until he felt himself grow frustrated and mad at her for causing him to worry.

"Shit, Sofia! Where the hell have you been?! Why the hell did you just disappear like that?!" James pulled away and glared at her, frantically yelling and asking her questions. "Have you been here the entire time? Do you realize that the entire castle has been searching for you for the last three or four hours?! Everyone is worried sick! Amber! Me! Even that Cyrus idiot is worried sick about where you are! Amber and your two guards are out there right now trying to find you! Sofia! Answer me! Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing this entire time?!"

James knew that he has been griping her shoulders a bit too hard just by how white his knuckles began to turn, but he didn't care because he was too upset with her. And somewhere inside of him, he understood that his fierce grip because he was afraid of her running away again. He just wanted to make sure that she was real and this wasn't some trauma-induced illusion.

"Sofia!" James yelled at her, frustrated that she still hasn't said a word. All she did was look at him with shocked, red swollen eyes, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "Sofia, answer me!"

And the next thing he knew, Sofia rushed forward and buried her face into his chest, sobbing long and hard.

"James," Sofia said in between her loud sobs. "I-I-I'm so-so sor-rrry. I ju-jusst ne-eeded to –" Her voice broke and her sobs came harder and thicker.

And just like that, all of his frustration and anger at her melted away. James knew exactly why it did, that his love for her would always outweigh his frustration and irritation for her. His arms then wrapped around her and just held her again, rubbing her back as a way to soothe her.

"Okay… okay… okay. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. It's okay… it's okay…."

Sofia didn't say anything else as she just continued to cry into his chest. James could feel her tears soak into his thin shirt, but he didn't care because she was back in his arms and clinging to him. She was real. She was back.

James didn't know how long they stayed like that, her crying into his arms as he cradled her. It was just the two of them, in their own little world again. And he wanted to savor this moment, where it felt like she needed him, like he was someone she could depend on.

But something in him gave James an entirely different feeling.

It told him that up until now, James has been nothing but selfish, that the voice inside of him has been right this entire time.

All this time, James has been only thinking about himself and totally neglecting Sofia and what she needed most. That the only thing that kept running through his head was just what he wanted and needed and asked for out of Sofia. James realized that since Sofia's return, all he's been saying to her was that _he_ needed _her_ to save him and not once did he ask about what _she_ needed out of _him. _That Sofia had every right to be angry and frustrated with him because it's been only her that's been doing all of the heavy lifting in their relationship. That she's been working hard trying to understand him and his issues, and James had the nerve to try and wimp-out on telling her the entire truth about that night and the voice inside his head.

James understood now that he's been nothing but selfish and a coward.

And even in his moment earlier, when he decided that he'll become someone she needed, he was still being selfish because, in some twisted way, James knew that he was only doing it for himself.

_I can't continue on like this_, James thought. _For so long, I've been nothing but just a crying, dependent baby that would just whine whenever Sofia's not by my side. That has to change._ I _need to change._

James finally understood now, what Sofia has been trying to teach him. That he needs to become independent and try to stand on his own two feet as a king. _I need to change and grow and utilize everything that Sofia has been trying to help me with. And I'm going to do this for her. _

A determination grew within the pit of James's stomach. A new and profound desire to change and grow and to prove to Sofia that everything that she's done for him won't be a waste.

But at the moment, looking down at her right now, James had another realization.

Sofia didn't need someone to depend on. No, she just needed someone to hold and cry to and for someone to hold her in return.

She didn't need a knight or a prince or even a king. She just needed a real person to hold her as she cried.

And James understood now. _That_ was what he needed to be for her, a simple person who cared about her and be there to hold her.

After her sob ended and she now just sniffled into his shirt, James shifted and moved himself to lean against the giant leaf wall and cradled Sofia against his chest as she sat in between his legs. He felt her shift her head and right shoulder to a more comforting position and so that it wouldn't hurt him as he held her tightly to him.

"James," Sofia broke their silence, her voice so tiny and hoarse after crying. "I'm sorry that I left."

James didn't answer or reply right away. He was just too happy to have her back in his arms, but something kept persisting its way to the front of his mind, demanding itself to be answered. "Did you leave because I told you that I love you?" James asked meekly, afraid of what her answer might be.

"…Kind of," she answered so quietly that he almost didn't hear her utter the words. Relief and fear both began to seep into his heart. "One reason I snuck out was that I needed to give Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda their invitations to the ball. But, James, another reason I left was because I just couldn't stand being suffocated in that castle. The pressures and stress of it all was getting to me and I just needed to get away for just a moment. I just needed to find a place to breathe and talk to someone who could help me understand my feelings for you. It wasn't like I was running away and never returning."

"And do you understand it now? ...Your feelings for me?"

"…Kind of," she repeated, but he could hear a small smile spread on her lips. "A couple of my friends helped me realize that I do like you, James. A lot. I like and care about you way more than any kind of sister should," and hearing that, James's heart began to swell and surge with a forceful desire to kiss her. "And I hope that someday I can find myself falling in love with you and love you the way you love me."

"Wait," James said, his swelling heart decreasing just a bit. "'Someday'?"

"Yeah, James," Sofia said as she turned to look up at him and gently pressed her hand on his chest. "James, I'm still trying to figure out my feelings for you and, as of right now, all I can understand is that I like you a lot. A lot, a lot. Don't get me wrong, James. I want to fall in love with you and be able to say it to you and only you. But right now, I'm just not ready to say it back to you."

"Is that why you ran away this morning?" James asked, his voice thick and heavy with emotion, as he cupped one of her cheeks with his hand and looked down at her.

"Honestly, yeah. James, you just threw me for a curve ball and totally wigged me out when you told me you love me. You were moving our relationship so fast and I just wasn't ready for it. I mean, I just had my first kiss with you not even a few hours before you decided to tell me that you love me. Just give me time James and maybe someday I can feel it in me to say it back to you." In the moonlight, James could see her raw and pure emotions run through her eyes as she gazed up at him and smiled hopefully. "James, I'm not ready to give up whatever we have and I'm sure as hell not going to give up on you. Let's just take this new relationship slow and easy for a while okay? Just until I can be sure that what I feel is the same love you feel for me."

James could feel himself growing a big and goofy smile, but he didn't care. He was just too happy to hear that Sofia wants to fall in love with him. She wants to love him! She can see herself being able to love him!

Not knowing what else to do, James just started to laugh and lowered his head so that their foreheads were touching. "Okay," he whispered back. "Does that mean we can still kiss and whatnot?"

Laughing back at him, Sofia nodded and gave him a small kiss. "Yes, we can still kiss. But only in private, I'm still not ready to tell anyone about our relationship yet."

"Deal," James smiled down at his beautiful and precious princess. "And since you apologized, I guess it's my turn now."

"What do you mean?"

"Sof," James began. "I'm sorry that I tried to move this relationship too fast. I was honestly just so happy that you admitted that you kind of felt the same way as I do that I just needed to tell you what exactly I felt about you. Because, Sof, I think I've been in love with you ever since we were kids and I've wanted you for so long that I just can't imagine my life without you anymore. And I guess my feelings for you just became so much that it made me spit out the words so early in this relationship. Sof, I just wanted you to know, that's all."

The entire time James spoke and poured himself out for her, Sofia just looked up at him speechless.

"But, Sof, I can wait. I can wait until you're ready to hear it again so that when I do say it to you, you won't freak out like you did this morning and instead kiss me happily. I promise you, Sofia, I won't say it until you ask me to. And that you're nothing but sure that you want to hear it."

And without any words, James watched her eyes grow misty again as both of her hands cup his cheeks and pull herself up to him until their lips met. The kiss began to spark fireworks in James and he wanted more out of it. He wanted so much more, but, to his dismay, their kiss didn't last long as they both heard a horse neigh and a little bunny's yipping.

Turning his head, James saw that the purple horse and white bunny was still there on the floor beside them.

"And who are these guys?" James asked playfully, looking over at his blushing Sofia.

"Oh," Sofia said with a giggle. "This horse's name is Lilac, while this little bunny here is named Blue. They were the animals that helped me sneak out and into the village." Softly giggling some more, Sofia then began to talk to the horse and small bunny, "Lilac, you can go back to the stables now. Blue, follow her. I promise I'll come by to pick you up later."

And without any hesitation, the two animals got up and walked back around the corner towards the busts.

"Well, you always did have a way with animals," James said, astonished at how obedient the horse and bunny was to Sofia. James remembered how she was always followed by a bunch of animals and how well they would always respond to her like she understood them and they understood her. Her relationship with animals was always on a whole other level that no one could understand.

But after hearing more of Sofia's giggles, James looked over at his still blushing princess. Seeing that she was biting her lips made everything in his mind disappear except for one thought: to kiss her until she was breathless. James then started to smile mischievously at her. "Well, now where were we?"

"Oh, I don't know, James," Sofia teased. "I honestly can't remem –"

James didn't let her finished as his lips soon possessed hers, exploring her lips and mouth like the kiss was something new. But it felt familiar and old at the same time, like they've been doing this their entire lives. And James couldn't get enough of it.

Even though the kiss was intimately passionate and heavy, James could tell there was gentleness to their kiss. Their passion and wistfulness didn't overpower their kiss; instead, the largest part of it was the kind and caring way they kissed one another. They didn't grab at each other like they were trying to find something more within the kiss. No, they pulled and kissed each other like they already found it and was trying to keep it in place.

James and Sofia kissed until they needed to break for breath. And after that, they simply sat there lovingly in each other's arms under the stars.

* * *

Chapter eleven! Woo!

Continuing what I've been saying in my other author's note in the last chapter, I just wanted to apologize at how long this took me to upload. I know that I said that I would put out two chapters after the whole mess was fixed, but it got fixed really fast (thank you support team) while I was only like in the middle of chapter eleven. I didn't even show it to my friends, who are also my kind-of beta readers, to review and edit. And when I actually did, I had to change the entire chapter because the both of them didn't correlate well with the previous chapters. I didn't want to give you guys crappy chapters, so I took this whole time to fix up and redo both chapters. I'm really sorry you guys. Please don't hate me.

On another note, if you read my last author's note in the last chapter, you would know that I had to remove a character. since I've had to fix the two chapters and change things around, I realize that a character of mine had to be axed and the ball had to be pushed back to chapter 12 and 13. Don't worry, it's not a TV character. It's my own OC. Anyway, the reason I've brought this up is because I actually have a challenge for you all, my dear readers. If you want me to tell you in my own review as who exactly this axed character is, then review and tell me. If I see a lot of reviews demanding that I tell you all and why I should, then I will. Again, send in a REVIEW, not a PM (private message), telling me to give up the details of this mystery character WITH with a good reason, then I will. I might even give a shout out to the reviews with the best reasons!

Good luck you guys!

As always, read, review, etc.

Thanks :)


	12. Important News

Hey everyone. It seems that I am going to have to go on hiatus for now because of my health. I promise that this series will continue on and that I am trying to push for more chapters in the near future, but as of right now, my health is more important and I am going to need some time off to recover. Thank you for understanding.

Challenge news: Basically, tell me in a review as to why you want to know who my axed OC is and if I get enough reviews, I will reveal it to you all. If you give me a good reason, I just might give you a shoutout.

I am going to leave up my challenge for you all until I return with the new chapters.

Again, thank you for understanding.


End file.
